DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Regeneration (North-West)

Ben Chapman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on regeneration in the North West.

Yvette Cooper: "Sustainable communities in the North West—Building for the future" accompanied the publication of the national action plan launched in February. This sets out proposals in the North West, complementing the work of the Local Strategic Partnerships and investment of the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund.

Regional Government

Michael Jack: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his referendum proposals for regional government in the North West.

Nick Raynsford: My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister announced on Monday 16 June that the level of interest in the North West region is sufficient to warrant a referendum about whether to establish an elected regional assembly. My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister directed the Boundary Committee for England to undertake a local government review in the region as a precursor to a referendum.

Homelessness

Paul Marsden: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will make a statement on trends in the numbers of homeless households in priority need since May 1997.

Keith Hill: The latest Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Statistical Release on statutory homelessness, covering figures for England in the first quarter of 2003, was published on 17 June. Table 1 of the statistical release shows the number of households accepted by local housing authorities in England as homeless and in priority need under the homelessness legislation for each year from 1997–98 to 2002–03, with a quarterly breakdown of figures for each quarter since 1 January 2000. Copies of the statistical release are available in the Library of the House.

Affordable Housing

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to require property developers to provide more affordable homes in private housing schemes.

Keith Hill: The recently published Sustainable Communities Plan sets out our intentions with regard to increasing the number of affordable homes. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is updating existing planning guidance and will support this with practical advice about what works well and where. The latest statistics show a steep rise in permissions for affordable homes to around 18,500. Through the update we want to see this improved yet further.

Arson

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what percentage of fires (a) on farms and (b) in retail premises were caused by arson in each year from 1997 to 2001; and what the estimated cost to the fire service was in each year.

Nick Raynsford: The information requested is in the following tables. Malicious fires are those where malicious or deliberate ignition was proved or suspected.
	Information on the cost to the fire service is not available before 1999. The estimates in the table are derived from applying an average fire service response cost for commercial fires of £12,950 to each farm and retail fire attended.
	
		Fires in agricultural premises, UK, 1997–2001
		
			  Total Malicious Percentage malicious Estimated costs (£000) 
		
		
			 1997 1,663 747 45 — 
			 1998 1,315 659 50 — 
			 1999 1,435 650 45 8,418 
			 2000 1,380 651 47 8,430 
			 2001 1,267 486 38 6,294 
		
	
	
		Fires in retail premises, UK, 1997–2001
		
			  Total Malicious Percentage malicious Estimated costs (£000) 
		
		
			 1997 5,787 2,321 40 — 
			 1998 5,699 2,229 39 — 
			 1999 5,699 2,236 39 28,956 
			 2000 5,358 2,200 41 28,490 
			 2001 5,687 2,474 44 32,038 
		
	
	Notes:
	Data for 2001 are provisional.
	The definition of retail premises includes vehicle trade premises

Council Tax

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the expenditure was by local authorities on council tax benefit administration for the financial years 1999–2000 to 2002–03.

Nick Raynsford: Council tax benefit administration costs as reported by local authorities are as tabled:
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1999–2000 178.8 
			 2000–01 194.8 
			 2001–02 218.7 
			 2002–03(1) 208.3 
		
	
	(1) Budgeted figures
	Source:
	RO4 forms 1999–00 to 2001–02 and RA form 2002–03

Equality

John MacDougall: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans his Department has to establish a single equality body to deal with all equality issues.

Patricia Hewitt: I have been asked to reply.
	I announced a consultation on the future of Great Britain's equality institutions on 22 October 2002, Official Report, column 246W, looking at the possibility of creating a single equality body among other options. We received nearly 300 written responses to this consultation which closed in February and are currently considering in detail the views expressed. We will make an announcement on the broad shape of future arrangements for equality institutions in due course.

Estate Agents Act

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to amend the Estate Agents Act 1979.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply.
	The Office of Fair Trading is currently investigating the market for estate agents in England and Wales, including the effectiveness of the Estate Agents Act 1979.
	I will consider carefully any recommendations the Director General of Fair Trading makes about future regulation of this market.

Fire Service

Phil Willis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the number of firefighters who will be made redundant in each fire authority in England under the new arrangements; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Raynsford: No such estimate has been made as part of the process of introducing integrated risk management. The Deputy Prime Minster has repeatedly made it clear that the modernisation of the fire service can be achieved without the need for compulsory redundancies.

Fire Service

Phil Willis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the effect on fire service 999 emergency response times in Harrogate and Knaresborough of the new risk management plans.

Nick Raynsford: No assessment has been made of the effect on fire service 999 emergency response times in Harrogate and Knaresborough. Under integrated risk management, it will be for fire authorities to set local standards for responding to fires and other emergencies in the light of a full assessment of the risks faced by their communities.

Fire Service

Phil Willis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will place in the Library (a) the Burchill proposed costing for each fire authority in England and (b) the fire authority costing for the proposals put forward by the fire authorities.

Nick Raynsford: The proposals put forward by Professor Frank Burchill for the resolution of the pay dispute between the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and their local authority employers contained no detailed costings. The proposals put forward by the employers, accepted by the FBU on 12 June 2003, do not include costings, but the employers have assured me that the deal is deliverable within current budgets, supported by £30 million of transitional funding from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, repayable over the Spending Review 2002 period.

Home Starter Initiative

Andrew George: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many key sector workers were housed and what amount was spent on affordable housing in rural areas under the Home Starter Initiative since September 2001.

Keith Hill: As at 31 May 2003, £5.253 million has been spent under the Starter Home Initiative to assist 287 key workers in local authorities with rural districts.

Official Spelling

Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make it his policy that all official (a) correspondence, (b) reports and (c) documentation from his office uses the English spelling of words where this differs from the American version.

Yvette Cooper: In line with the guidance issued by the Cabinet Office to departments on the Handling of Ministerial and Order correspondence it is the policy of the Office of the Prime Minister to use the English spelling of English words. Where we employ specialist proof readers, and typesetters we direct them to use the Oxford English Dictionary as their reference and to use the guidance issued on Plain Written English. Within the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister the spell check facility on our IT systems is set to the UK English dictionary.

Regional Assemblies

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent representations he has received on holding a referendum for elections to a regional assembly in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Nick Raynsford: My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister is considering views, information and evidence that has been received about the level of interest in each English region (outside London) in holding referendums on elected regional assemblies. Decisions will be announced shortly as to which region(s) should proceed towards referendums and a summary of responses to the soundings exercise will be published at the same time.

Right to Buy

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many houses were sold under (a) the Right to Buy and (b) the right to acquire in each of the last five years; what his estimate is of those totals over the next three years; what plans he has to revise the guidance to tenants in respect of these schemes; and what plans he has further to amend the (a) discount and (b) clawback period in respect of these schemes.

Keith Hill: The information is as follows:
	Right to Buy
	1. Sales
	The following are the most recently available figures for sales under the Right to Buy scheme in England:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1997–98 41,329 
			 1998–99 40,272 
			 1999–2000 54,251 
			 2000–01 52,380 
			 2001–02 51,968 
		
	
	No estimates have been made of sales over the next three years.
	2. Guidance to tenants
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister booklet for tenants "Your right to buy your home" was reissued in August 2002, along with a separate booklet on the 'Rent to Mortgage' scheme. When the booklet is next reprinted, during the next few months, it will be amended to reflect the announcement in March 2003 that the maximum discount available to tenants under the Right to Buy scheme has been reduced in 41 areas under the greatest housing pressure. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister wrote on 6 March 2003 to local authorities in London and the South-East, Eastern and South-Western regions, confirming these reductions; with this letter was enclosed an extra page explaining the changes, for inclusion in copies of "Your right to buy your home" given to tenants.
	3. Discounts
	The Government will keep the position on maximum discounts under review.
	4. Repayment of discount (clawback)
	At present, if an individual resells the property which he has purchased under the Right to Buy scheme within three years from the date of purchase, he must repay discount. During the first year, all the discount must be repaid; thereafter, the amount to be repaid reduces by one-third for each complete year that elapses.
	The Government's draft Housing Bill, published on 31 March 2003, proposes to extend the repayment period to five years. During the first year, all the discount will have to be repaid; thereafter, the amount to be repaid will reduce by one-fifth for each complete year that elapses.
	Right to Acquire
	1. Sales
	The following are the most recently available figures for sales under the Right to Acquire scheme in England:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1998–99 0 
			 1999–2000 5 
			 2000–01 18 
			 2001–02 37 
			 2002–03 111 
		
	
	The right to acquire is a demand led scheme that enables housing association tenants to purchase their rented home at a discount. No estimates have been made of sales over the next three years.
	2. Guidance to tenants
	The Government have no plans to amend the guidance issued to tenants.
	3. Discounts
	The Government have no plans to amend the discount offered under the Right to Acquire scheme.
	4. Repayment of discount
	The Government intend that the measures in the draft Housing Bill designed to modernise the Right to Buy, including increasing the clawback period for repayment of discount from three to five years, will also apply to the Right to Acquire scheme.

Right to Buy

Andrew George: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many homes were transferred from local authority ownership in (a) all English local authorities and (b) rural English local authorities under (i) the right-to-buy scheme and (ii) registered social landlords in each year since 1996.

Keith Hill: The figures available are tabled.
	
		Homes transferred from local authority ownerships
		
			   Right to buy scheme sales Transfers to registeredsocial landlords 
			  England Of which rural LAs England Of which rural LAs 
		
		
			  
			  
			 1996–97 33,206 (2)— 22,534 (2)— 
			 1997–98 41,329 (2)— 35,701 (2)— 
			 1998–99 40,272 7,212 76,543 26,425 
			 1999–2000 54,251 9,556 96,755 15,526 
			 2000–01 52,380 8,137 132,462 28,730 
			 2001–02 51,968 7,744 35,687 17,370 
		
	
	(2) Not available

Rough Sleepers

Anne Campbell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what progress he has made in assisting local authorities to reduce the number of rough sleepers.

Yvette Cooper: As of June 2002, local authority statistics show that 600 people were sleeping rough on any one night. This figure sustained the Prime Minister's target to reduce rough sleeping by at least two-thirds from a baseline figure of 1,850 in June 1998.
	The Homelessness Directorate within the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister brings together the work of the former Rough Sleepers Unit, the Bed and Breakfast Unit and a team to ensure the effective implementation of the Homelessness Act 2002 and assist local authorities in the development of strategies to tackle homelessness.
	The Homelessness Directorate has a revenue budget this year of £70 million and is providing grant support to local authorities to help them implement homelessness strategies and where necessary bed and breakfast action plans and rough sleeping strategies. To ensure the two-thirds reduction is sustained, key local authorities have been asked to draw up strategies for their areas for the period up to 31 March 2004 in consultation with local voluntary agencies and other partner organisations.
	The Homelessness Directorate is continuing to work closely with local authorities, particularly where rough sleeping remains at a significant level.

Social Exclusion

Tom Brake: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the role of transport in tackling social exclusion.

Yvette Cooper: Good transport provision that enables people to access the services they need when they need them is essential in promoting social inclusion.
	This was highlighted in the recent Social Exclusion Unit report "Making the Connections: Final Report on Transport and Social Exclusion", which aims to tackle social exclusion by ensuring people can get to work and key services and to reduce the disproportionate impact of traffic on disadvantaged areas. This does not just involve improving transport but changing where and how services are delivered.
	The report introduces a new framework—accessibility planning—to be led by transport authorities when preparing and implementing their second Local Transport Plans (due in 2005). This process aims to improve joint working between authorities and a range of other local partners in identifying and tackling accessibility problems.
	This will be complemented by a comprehensive cross-Government programme to make it easier for people on low incomes to access work and key services.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Criminal Justice

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on progress in implementing the Review of the Criminal Justice System in Northern Ireland.

John Spellar: The Government are making good progress in taking forward the implementation of the Review of the Criminal Justice System in Northern Ireland. I wish to take this opportunity to announce a number of significant developments.
	First, the updated Implementation Plan for the Criminal Justice Review is being published today. The updated Implementation Plan sets out an ambitious programme of transformational change designed to modernise and enhance public confidence in the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland. It reports on the significant and encouraging progress which has already been made, and sets out clearly how the remaining work will be taken forward and the timescales over which this will be achieved.
	Copies of the updated Implementation Plan have been placed in the Library.
	Second, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, in consultation with the Lord Chancellor and the Attorney General, has appointed the right hon. the Lord Clyde as independent Justice Oversight Commissioner for Northern Ireland.
	The Oversight Commissioner will provide public assurance about the implementation of the changes in criminal justice arrangements and structures in Northern Ireland set out in the updated Implementation Plan.
	Copies of the Oversight Commissioner's terms of reference were placed in the Library on 18 December 2002.
	Third, the Secretary of State has appointed Mr. Kit Chivers as Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice in Northern Ireland, as required by section 45 of the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002.
	The Chief Inspector will assist in the establishment of the new independent Criminal Justice Inspectorate recommended in the "Review of the Criminal Justice System in Northern Ireland". The new Inspectorate will play a vital role in ensuring that individual criminal justice agencies in Northern Ireland are meeting their objectives and those set for them by the Government, as well as ensuring that the criminal justice system works effectively in a 'joined up' way and as a coherent whole. It will also be responsible for ensuring the proper expenditure of public resources.
	The functions of the Chief Inspector are set out in sections 46–49 of the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002.

TRANSPORT

Children's Car Seats

Alan Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what duty there is for car hire firms when providing children's car seats to ensure that the seats meet current safety standards; and what requirements there are for car hire firms to ensure that children's car seats are properly fitted and appropriate to the weight of the intended child passenger.

Alistair Darling: Under seat belt wearing legislation, the driver of a vehicle is responsible for ensuring that children under 14 years use child restraints or adult belts, as appropriate, in accordance with the regulations. There is nothing in this legislation to require hire companies to provide appropriate child restraints for customers or ensure that they are properly fitted. The provision and fitting of appropriate child restraints is a matter between a hire company and their customers.

A46 and A453

Kenneth Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  when he expects construction work to begin on the planned dualling of the A46 Fosse Way between Widmerpool and Newark-on-Trent;
	(2)  when he expects construction work to commence on the planned dualling of the A453 trunk road between Kegworth and Clifton in Nottinghamshire. [119172] I

Alistair Darling: holding answer 13 June 2003
	I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Tim Matthews, to write to the right hon. Member.
	Letter from Tim Matthews to Mr. Kenneth Clarke, dated 18 June 2003
	I have been asked by the Secretary of State for Transport to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about the start dates for construction work on the proposed dualling schemes on the A46 between Widmerpool and Newark and the A453 between Kegworth and Clifton in Nottinghamshire.
	Public consultation on our preferred option for the A46 scheme commenced at the end of March this year and local exhibitions were held in April. The public consultation period ends on 20 June 2003. The future programme depends on how quickly the various statutory processes can be completed but we are currently planning to announce a preferred route in Spring 2004, with a start of works sometime during 2007.
	The proposals for the A53 scheme are at an early stage. As a result of recommendations made in the A453 Nottingham to M1 Multi-Modal Study, the Secretary of State for Transport announced last December that he was minded to include a scheme in the Targeted Programme of Improvements (TPI). At the same time, he asked the Highways Agency to carry out further preliminary assessment work. Assuming that a scheme is included in the TPI later this year, construction work is currently scheduled to commence in 2008.
	As with the A46, achievement of this date is subject to the satisfactory completion of the required statutory procedures.
	If you would like any further details about these proposals, our staff would be pleased to help. The Project Manager for the A46 scheme is Geoff Bethel and the Project Sponsor for the A453 scheme is John Holt. Both can be contacted at the Agency's offices at Broadway, Broad Street, Birmingham B15 1BL; Geoff on 0121 678 8137 and John on 0121 678 8314.

Air Accidents Investigation Branch

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average length of time is for the publication of reports by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch following the air accident under investigation.

David Jamieson: The average length of time taken to publish a report following an AAIB investigation is 28 weeks.

Air Accidents Investigation Branch

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many reports have been published by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (a) within 12 months of and (b) more than 12 months after the accident under investigation in each year since 1996.

David Jamieson: The information requested is as follows:
	
		Number of field and AARF (Form to Pilot) investigations conducted within the UK, broken down by time taken to publish report 
		
			  Less than 12 months More than 12 months 
		
		
			 1996 335 7 
			 1997 317 16 
			 1998 360 27 
			 1999 331 28 
			 2000 271 11 
			 2001 261 31 
			 2002 (3)239 21 
		
	
	(3) In addition, there are 29 investigations to be published that are less than 12 months old.

Air Accidents Investigation Branch

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff were employed in the Air Accidents Investigation Branch in each year since 1996.

David Jamieson: The number of staff employed by the AAIB by year since 1996 is in the table.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1996 42 
			 1997 44 
			 1998 46 
			 1999 44 
			 2000 44 
			 2001 46 
			 2002 50 
			 2003 46

Air Accidents Investigation Branch

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many personnel, broken down by grade, are employed in the Air Accidents Investigation Branch.

David Jamieson: The number and grades of staff employed by the AAIB on 16 June 2003 is in the table.
	
		
			 Grade Number 
		
		
			 SGB 1 2 
			 Divisional Secretary 1 
			 Personal Secretary 1 
			 Administration Officer 5 
			 PGSE 1 
			 Executive Officer 3 
			 HPTO 1 
			 Higher Executive Officer 1 
			 G7 (Inspectors) 25 
			 G6 (Principal Inspectors) 4 
			 G5 (DCIAA) 1 
			 G4 (CIAA) 1 
			 Total 46

Congestion

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what his Department's policy is on exempting motorcycles, scooters and mopeds from further congestion charging schemes; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what plans his Department has to promote the use of powered two-wheelers in reducing congestion; if he plans to introduce legislation to mandate exemptions for powered two-wheelers from future congestion charges and road pricing schemes; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: With the help of the Advisory Group on Motorcycling the Government are currently exploring a number of important issues relating to the role of motorcycling in an integrated transport policy, including congestion. The key workstreams should be completed by 2004, when we aim to determine a strategy for motorcycling.
	We will consult on the scope of a uniform minimum standard of exemptions and concessions once we have had an opportunity to take into account the experiences gained from road user charging schemes in London and Durham. In the meantime it is a matter for those local authorities developing charging schemes to decide how to manage such vehicles within their schemes.

Motorways

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment the Government have made of the (a) availability and (b) accessibility of designated rest areas on motorways; and how many rest areas there are on each motorway.

David Jamieson: Motorists wanting to take a break in the course of their journey can stop at motorway service areas, which are available at approximately 30-mile intervals on most of the motorway network in England. I am arranging for a map showing the location of existing motorway service areas, from which may be deduced the number of rest areas on each motorway, to be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Network Rail

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list (a) Network Rail's rail land disposals, broken down by (i) date and (ii) value, and (b) the occasions on which the Rail Regulator has intervened to block rail land sales, in each of the last five years.

David Jamieson: The Office of the Rail Regulator advises that the regulatory accounts of Network Rail Infrastructure Limited (and formerly Railtrack PLC) show income from land being 73 million for the financial year 200102. The unaudited figure for 200203 is 51 million. A breakdown of income per land case is not available. Data are not available prior to 200102.
	Since the introduction of the land disposal licence condition by the Rail Regulator in November 2001, the Regulator has received 58 requests for consent from Network Rail (and formerly Railtrack plc). The Regulator has consented to 40 of these requests, refused consent on nine occasions, with nine requests awaiting a decision.
	This information is set out in the following table.
	
		
			 Case Outcome 
		
		
			 1. Lee Consent granted 14 March 2002 
			 2. Netherfield Consent granted 14 March 2002 
			 3. Salford Consent granted 20 March 2002 
			 4. Castle Bromwich Consent granted 20 March 2002 
			 5. Grimethorpe Consent granted 27 March 2002 
			 6. Bristol Parkway Consent granted 30 April 2002 
			 7. Plymouth Intercity House Consent granted 3 May 2002 
			 8. Cardiff Virgil Street Consent granted 3 May 2002 
			 9. Preston Strand Level Crossing Consent granted 3 May 2002 
			 10. Salisbury Consent refused 7 June 2002 
			 11. Birkenhead Consent granted 21 June 2002 
			 12. Borehamwood Consent refused 27 June 2002 
			 13. Stone Consent granted 27 June 2002 
			 14. East Kilbride Consent granted 19 July 2002 
			 15. Henley-in-Arden Consent granted 25 July 2002 
			 16. Rufford  Clipstone Consent granted 09 August 2002 
			 17. Bristol East Consent refused 13 August 2002 
			 18. Heighten Consent granted 27 August 2002 
			 19. St. Mary Cray Consent granted 29 August 2002 
			 20. Beckenham Junction Consent granted 29 August 2002 
			 21. Penge East Consent granted 29 August 2002 
			 22. Hove Consent refused 5 September 2002 
			 23. Hastings Consent granted 19 September 2002 
			 24. Dunfermline Consent granted 7 October 2002 
			 25. Kirkby-in-Ashfield Consent granted 11 October 2002 
			 26. Bredbury Consent granted 11 October 2002 
			 27. Hexham Consent granted 18 October 2002 
			 28. Salisbury Consent granted 24 October 2002 
			 29. Woodley Consent granted 22 November 2002 
			 30. Fratton Consent granted 22 November 2002 
			 31. Barking Consent refused 2 December 2002 
			 32. Shildon South Consent granted 11 December 2002 
			 33. Heaton Consent refused 20 December 2002 
			 34. Harwich Town Consent granted 20 December 2002. 
			 35. East Grinstead Consent refused 20 December 2002 
			 36. Formby Consent granted 19 December 2002 
			 37. Sutton-in-Ashfield Consent granted 24 January 2003 
			 38. Barry Consent granted 29 November 2002 
			 39. Ipswich Consent granted 21 February 2003 
			 40. Norwich Consent refused 21 February 2003 
			 41. Hethersett Consent granted 21 February 2003 
			 42. Bedford Consent granted 7 March 2003 
			 43. Chester Consent refused 23 March 2003 
			 44. Wigan Consent granted 18 March 2003 
			 45. Braintree Consent granted 21 March 2003 
			 46. Boston Consent granted 7 April 2003 
			 47. Wolverton Consent granted 22 April 2003 
			 48. Wembley Consent granted 29 April 2003 
			 49. St. Albans Consent granted 22 May 2003 
			 50. Rutherglen Pending 
			 51. Glasgow Hayburn Pending 
			 52. Edinburgh Pending 
			 53. Cranmore Pending 
			 54. Sankey Pending 
			 55. Carnoustie Pending 
			 56. Heaton Pending 
			 57. Cardiff Saunders Road Pending 
			 58. Bognor Regis Pending

Paper Supplies

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 23 January 2003, Official Report, column 514W, on paper supplies, whether any of the paper or paper products supplied to his Department by Premier Paper are supplied by Stora Enso's Veitsiluoto Mill in Finland; and what assessment has been made of whether this paper contains (a) timber from old growth forests and (b) timber that may have been logged illegally in Russia.

David Jamieson: Paper and paper products supplied to my Department by Premier Paper are not supplied from Stora Enso's Veitsiluoto Mill in Finland.
	Over 94 per cent. of the paper that we use is made from material containing a high proportion of post consumer waste. Our approach is to phase out virgin paper for non-specialist uses and where it is used we specify that it should be made from pulp that comes from sources that have been independently verified as legal and sustainably managed in accordance with Government Policy. This should ensure that the Department does not purchase any paper that contains (a) timber from old growth forests and (b) timber that may have been logged illegally in Russia. However, I am taking steps to ensure not only that the policy is understood and implemented but also that it is being policed.

Rail Safety

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans the Government has to amend the Railways (Safety Critical Work) Regulations 1994 in relation to the working time for train drivers; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: holding answer 17 June 2003
	The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) are currently reviewing the Railways (Safety Critical Work) Regulations 1994 and considering whether the provisions relating to fatigue are adequate for all safety critical railway workers, including train drivers. As part of this process, the HSE are focusing on the management of fatigue and not just the number of hours worked.

Roadworks

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of roadworks was conducted by (a) utilities, (b) local authorities and (c) the Highways Agency in the last 12 months.

David Jamieson: Comparative figures are not available at this stage. However, we have appointed consultants Halcrowto monitor the number of utility works carried out on roads in England. They will be reporting to us later this summer with figures for the period April 2002 to March 2003. Copies of their report will be placed in the Libraries of the House in due course. Copies of their 200102 report have already been placed in the House Libraries.

Royal Mail

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what impact the decision of Royal Mail to switch the transport of mail from rail to road will have on the Government's commitment to expanding the transportation of goods by rail.

David Jamieson: The Government remain committed to increasing rail's modal share of the freight market. The Strategic Rail Authority's Freight Progress Report, published in May 2003, explains the achievements to date and sets out its future plans for increasing rail's overall share of freight traffic. Copies of the report are in the Libraries of the House.

South Coast Multi-Modal Study

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will announce his decision on the south coast multi-modal study.

David Jamieson: We are currently considering the final report and recommendations from a number of multi-modal studies together with the views of the respective Regional Planning Bodies. We expect to be in a position to make an announcement before the summer recess.

Strategic Rail Authority

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what basis the Strategic Rail Authority has intervened in negotiations and agreements which have been reached between the managements of the train operating companies and the rail unions.

David Jamieson: Negotiations and agreements between rail unions and train operating companies are matters for those bodies. Franchise agreements do, however, require the Strategic Rail Authority to approve any proposed pay agreement that would exceed the average earnings index either in the last 12 months of a franchise or in later years because these would result in liabilities for successor train operators.

PRIME MINISTER

Intelligence Services (Corruption)

Lembit �pik: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of levels of corruption within the British intelligence services; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  whether he has identified corrupt activity within the intelligence services in the United Kingdom over the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr. Duncan Smith) on 4 June 2003, Official Report, columns 14748, and to the right hon. Member for Ross, Skye and Inverness, West (Mr. Kennedy) on 4 June 2003, Official Report, columns 15152.

Iraq

Graham Allen: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the officials, with their responsibilities, who contributed to the final text of the dossiers on Iraq which were published and presented to Parliament before the war in Iraq.

Tony Blair: I refer my hon. Friend to the answers I gave to the hon. Member for North Essex (Mr. Jenkin) on 24 February 2003, Official Report, column 254W and on 3 March 2003, Official Report, columns 85657W.

Iraq

Patsy Calton: To ask the Prime Minister what steps he will take to ensure that there is a thorough scientific examination of the quality of the evidence provided to hon. Members for the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr. Duncan Smith) on 4 June 2003, Official Report, columns 14748 and the answering right hon. Friend the Leader of the House gave the hon. Member on 5 June 2003, Official Report, column 318.

Iraq

Graham Allen: To ask the Prime Minister whether persons (a) in his office and (b) in the security and intelligence services have been subject to penalty, reprimand or disciplinary action related to their conduct in the preparation of the dossiers on Iraq published before the war.

Tony Blair: I refer my hon. Friend to the answers I gave to the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr. Duncan Smith) on 4 June 2003, Official Report, columns 14748, to the right hon. Member for Ross, Skye and Inverness, West (Mr. Kennedy) on 4 June 2003, Official Report, columns 15152 and to the hon. Member for East Carmarthen and Dinefwr (Adam Price) on 9 June 2003, Official Report, column 573W.

Parliamentary Questions

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make an assessment of the consistency with the terms of (a) the Open Government Code and (b) the Freedom of Information Act 2000 of the content of the parliamentary written answers he has provided since June 2001.

Tony Blair: Answers to parliamentary questions are provided in accordance with the terms of the Ministerial Code. The Freedom of Information Act comes into force in 2005.

Security Services

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the system within the security services for maintaining contact with the press.

Tony Blair: In line with ministerial responsibilities, media inquiries about the Secret Intelligence Service are handled by the FCO Press Office. Media inquiries about the Security Service are handled by the Home Office Press Office. GCHQ has its own dedicated Press Office which works closely with the FCO Press Office.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Medical Staff

Greg Knight: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many medical staff are employed in the Palace of Westminster; what the (a) hours of employment and (b) grades of qualification of such staff are; what the figures were in 1993; and if he will make a statement.

Archy Kirkwood: The Occupational Health, Safety and Welfare Service, which provides medical services to both Houses, currently has a consultant occupational health physician working one day a week, a medical adviser who works three days a week, and three qualified nurses (one full-time, two part-time). In addition, the Occupational Health Manager is a qualified nurse, and is full-time.
	Records for 1993 are no longer available.

September Sittings

David Amess: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, what estimate the Commission has made of the additional costs arising from the House sitting for a short period in September.

Archy Kirkwood: The overall cost of running the House administration (excluding capital works etc.) in 200203 was some 133 million, giving an average daily cost of the order of 365,000. The difference in cost between a sitting day and a non-sitting day is negligible: the major costs of accommodation and staffing are not affected appreciably by the change to September sittings. These figures do not include the cost of paying Members' salaries or allowances, which are not normally regarded as part of the cost of running the House itself.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Analogue Switch-off

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of public awareness of analogue switch-off; and what percentage of the UK population she estimates are aware of the proposed deadline for switch-off.

Estelle Morris: No formal assessment has been made. Research commissioned from MORI by DCMS in spring 2002 into consumer attitudes to digital television found that 56 per cent. of people were aware of analogue switch off between 2006 and 2010, which compared with 44 per cent. in 2001. No figures are available for 2003.

HMS Vengeance

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  if she will place HMS Vengeance on the Historic Ships List;
	(2)  if she will make a statement on the criteria for eligibility to place a ship on the Historic Ships List; and what powers she has to make exceptions to these rules.

Estelle Morris: The Government welcomes the efforts of those involved in the preservation of the country's maritime heritage. However, decisions on which ships should be included in the Core Collection and Designated Vessels lists, and the specific and well established criteria which inform those decisions, are a matter for the National Historic Ships Committee (NHSC) and not for Government. These lists and criteria are reviewed regularly by the NHSC.

Digital Broadcasting

Tim Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the percentage of residents in (a) north west England, (b) Cumbria and (c) South Lakeland who are able to receive digital audio broadcasting on terrestrial transmitters.

Estelle Morris: This Department does not hold these figures. They are held separately by the BBC and Digital Radio Development Bureau (DRDB). According to the BBC and DRDB:
	BBC
	(a) North west England: approximately 75 per cent. of the population is currently reached, (expected to rise by end of 2004 to about 85 per cent.);
	(b) Cumbria: no coverage at present;
	(c) South Lakeland: no coverage at present, (but expected to reach half the population by the end of 2004).
	Commercial Radio
	(a) North west England: approximately 75 per cent. of the population is currently reached;
	(b) Cumbria: approximately 33 per cent. of the population is currently reached;
	(c) South Lakeland: There is limited coverage, but detailed information on population coverage is not available.

Digital Broadcasting

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the level of take-up of digital television services has been from 1998 to the most recent date for which figures are available, broken down by region.

Estelle Morris: This information is not available currently. Subscriber figures for the take up of digital television services are not available on a regional basis, as the data is commercially sensitive and therefore confidential to the pay television companies. However the Office for National Statistics hope to be able to produce figures on the level of take up of all digital television services on a regional basis in the future.

Digital Broadcasting

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many and what percentage of (a) people and (b) households in the United Kingdom (i) receive and (ii) can receive digital television by (A) digital terrestrial, (B) digital satellite, (C) digital cable and (D) other means, broken down by region.

Estelle Morris: The information is not available in the form requested. The coverage information available from the Independent Television Commission is calculated using the 24 million UK households.
	For the first quarter of 2003 the estimated UK figures are:
	
		
			 Digital television receiving platform Possible viewing households Actual viewing households 
		
		
			 digital terrestrial television (figures based on core coverage from main six digital multiplexes) 17.5 million (73 per cent.) 1.4 million (5.7 per cent.) 
			 digital satellite (figures do not take into account planning restrictions or restrictive covenants) 23.5 million (98 per cent.) 7.36 million of which: 
			 6.7 million (subscribers) (27.2 per cent.) 
			 660,000 (free to view only) (2.7 percent.) 
			 digital cable 6 million (25 per cent.) 2.1 million (8.5 per cent.) 
			 DSL Not known (0.05 per cent.)

Digital Broadcasting

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the Digital Action Plan, what her definition of digital television being affordable is; and what criteria she used to come to this definition.

Estelle Morris: We have said that switching to digital television must be an affordable option for the vast majority of people; and as a target indicator of affordability, 95 per cent. of consumers must have access to digital equipment. One of the key tasks for Government in the Digital Action Plan is to conduct a comprehensive review of progress towards digital switchover, with particular reference to the accessibility, availability and affordability tests announced in September 1999. I have asked the Digital Television Consumer Expert Group announced on 17 June to help the Government with this.

Television Licences

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether recent changes to the concessionary TV licence fee regulations will require people who are over 65, who previously had concessionary TV licences and who work part-time, to pay full rates; and if she will make a statement.

Estelle Morris: The recent changes to the Accommodation for Residential Care (ARC) concessionary television licence scheme, to introduce preserved rights to the concession for existing beneficiaries, have not altered the categories of resident eligible for the concession. These are disabled persons, mentally disordered persons and retired persons aged 60 years or more. The BBC has statutory responsibility for the administration of the television licensing system, including responsibility for determining entitlement to the ARC concession in individual cases. However, I understand that residents aged 60 years or more who are either not in paid employment, are in paid employment but work no more than 15 hours per week, or are in paid employment but do not work in their lifetime career, are considered to fall within the category of retired persons aged 60 years or more.

Television Licences

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether sheltered housing schemes which bought TV licences at full cost before 1 April will have the fees reimbursed to take account of recent changes in regulations; and if she will make a statement.

Estelle Morris: The BBC has statutory responsibility for the administration of the television licensing system. This includes responsibility for determining refund policy. However, I understand that, in cases where residents in sheltered housing have obtained full fee licences but have since become entitled to preserved rights to the Accommodation for Residential Care concession, the BBC's policy is to offer refunds for full, unexpired calendar months from 1 April this year, when the amending regulations came into effect.

TREASURY

Access for Disabled People

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what actions he has taken or is taking to ensure that the websites of his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are accessible to partially sighted and blind people; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The Chancellor's departments, agencies and non-departmental public bodies are working together to ensure that both their current and future websites are accessible to the blind and partially sighted.
	The Inland Revenue's site has been won the RNIB's accessible website award, HM Customs and Excise are current redesigning their site to conform with the RNIB's 'See it Right' standard and HM Treasury's site has been designed to meet the world wide web consortium's web accessibility (W3C WAI) guidelines and was recently recognised by a National Audit Office report as one of the most accessible in government.
	The National Savings and Investment website has been built to meet the W3C WAI guidelines and the Valuation Office (VOA) is working to be fully compliant with the Office of the E-envoy guidelines.
	The Debt Management Office's website is currently being re-designed. Accessibility to the website is a priority and the DMO will be following the RNIB Accessibility Best Practice guidelines in taking forward this work. National Statistics currently meets all but one of the priority W3C WAI objectives and will be seeking to address areas of non-compliance when it redevelops its website, subject to specific data visualisation and presentation issues. The Royal Mint's current site is programmed to meet W3C WAI objectives and accessibility will be central to the forthcoming redevelopment of the site. The main websites of the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) and OGC buying solutions have been built in line with the Office of E-envoy guidance and while some older sites are not yet fully compliant, a website accessibility champion at OGCbuying.solutions, and a team including an expert on the application of the relevant standards for web design at OGC, will be responsible for ensuring the accessibility of all sites to partially sited or blind people.

Advertising

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total expenditure on advertising by the Department was in (a) 200102 and (b) 200203; and what the level of planned expenditure is for (i) 200304 and (ii) 200405.

Dawn Primarolo: For (a), I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 19 June 2002, Official Report, columns 387390W; and for (b), to the Financial Secretary's answer to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 5 March 2003, Official Report, columns 106163W. The information relating (i) to 200304 and (ii) 200405 is given in the table.
	
		
		
			 Department (i) 200304 (ii) 200405 
		
		
			 HM Treasury 0 0 
			 Inland Revenue Not yet available Not yet available 
			 HM Customs and Excise 2,570,000 4,300,000 
			 Office of National Statistics 0 0 
			 Debt Management Office 529,000 This information cannot be disclosed.Exemption 6 of the Code of Practice onAccess to Government Information applies 
			 Government Actuary's Department 59,000 62,000 
			 Valuation Office Agency 270,000 Not yet available 
			 Royal Mint This information cannot be disclosed.Exemption 7 of the Code of Practice onAccess to Government Information applies See column (i). Exemption 7 applies 
			 Office of Government Commerce 0 0 
			 OGC Buying Solutions 40,000 0 
			 National Savings and Investments (NSI) 2,000,000 3,000,000

BAE Systems

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish his assessment of the proposals submitted by BAE Systems for the provision of Hawk training aircraft to the Royal Air Force; what matters he raised in representations to the Secretary of State for Defence concerning the BAE Systems proposals; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Jack: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what instructions he has issued to the Ministry of Defence relating to the purchasing of the BAE Advanced Jet Trainer;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on the factors that will determine Treasury approval for the Ministry of Defence to purchase a new Advanced Jet Trainer for the RAF.

John Healey: The Ministry of Defence is carefully evaluating the proposals submitted by BAE Systems on the Advanced Jet Trainer. The Secretary of State for Defence will consult Treasury Ministers and other colleagues when this evaluation is complete.
	HM Treasury will take all relevant factors into account when considering proposals to provide the armed forces with an Advanced Jet Trainer, including the impact that any decision might have on the economy of the UK. Our objectives on this are clear and are shared across Government. We are determined to ensure that the armed forces get the best possible equipment at the best possible value for money to the taxpayer. We are committed to the Defence Industrial Policy launched last year, and to a globally competitive aerospace industry.

Birth Statistics

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many children were born in 200203; and how many women had their first child in that year.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Willetts, dated June 2003
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question on the number of children born in 200203, and how many women had their first child in that year.
	Births data for the first quarter of 2003 are not yet available. In the calendar year 2002 there were 596,122 live births in England and Wales. The latest year for which estimates are available that give whether a birth is a mother's first live birth or not is 2001. For that year it is estimated that 248,000 women had a first live birth in England and Wales. There were 594,634 live births in 2001.

Capital Gains Tax

Denzil Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the total yield in a full year of imposing capital gains tax at present rates on the disposal by individuals of their only or main residences.

Dawn Primarolo: The latest estimated costs of exempting gains arising on disposal of a main or only residence were given in Chapter A of Budget 2003.These costs are not the same as the yield from abolition of the relief as consequential effects on the housing market would substantially reduce the yield. Reliable estimates of the yield from imposing capital gains tax at present rates on the disposal by individuals of their only or main residences are available only at disproportionate cost.

Child Benefit

Candy Atherton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what provisions he plans to ensure that child benefit continues to be paid without interruption to the father of dependent children when his wife dies.

Dawn Primarolo: Where a child benefit claimant dies and their partner wants to claim child benefit instead, he or she needs to make a new claim. They have up to three months to do this and not suffer a break in their right to payment. The Inland Revenue will do all it can, in such cases, to ensure claims are processed as quickly as possible and to maintain continuity of payment.
	The surviving partner should also claim child tax credit.

Child Benefit

Patsy Calton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to allow those already in receipt of child benefit and who are eligible for child tax credit to receive the credit without resubmitting information provided for receipt of child benefit.

Dawn Primarolo: To claim child tax credit the claimant, or claimants, are asked to provide their details and those of the children they want to claim for. The child information required has been kept to a minimum. It includes information not relevant for child benefit purposes such as whether disability benefits are received for a child.
	Although, in most cases, the person entitled to child benefit for a child will be the same as the recipient of child tax credit for him or her, that is not always the case. So it is right that people should be asked to confirm the details of the children they are claiming for.

Construction Industry

Alan Hurst: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much arrears of national insurance contributions was reclaimed from employers in the construction industry in each year since 1999.

Dawn Primarolo: The Class 1 and Class 1A national insurance contributions recovered from employers recorded as being within the construction industry are shown in the table. These figures represent national insurance contributions recovered by Employer Compliance officers and relate to a range of circumstances where employers failed to account properly for Class 1 and Class 1A national insurance.
	
		
			   million 
		
		
			  
			  
			 19992000 12.3 
			 200001 9.3 
			 200102 9.2 
			 200203 10.8

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 6 May 2003 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Julie Walker; and if he will reprove the Tax Credit office for failing to fulfil its commitment to reply within 15 working days.

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue replied to the right hon. Member on 13 June 2003 and very much regret having been unable to do so sooner. The Tax Credit office aims to reply to 80 per cent. of complaints within 15 working days and will measure their performance and report against that aim in due course.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 1 May 2003 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Teresa Cole; and if he will reprove the Tax Credit office for failing to fulfil its commitment to reply within 15 working days.

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue replied to the right hon. Member on 13 June 2003 and very much regret having been unable to do so sooner. The Tax Credit office aims to reply to 80 per cent. of complaints within 15 working days and will measure their performance and report against that aim in due course.

Inheritance Tax

Julian Lewis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reason the cost of professional advice in executing a will subject to inheritance tax is not allowable against the value of the estate.

Dawn Primarolo: IHT is charged on the value of the estate at death net of liabilities existing at that time. Expenses incurred after death do not affect the deceased person's net assets at death, and accordingly, have never been deductible, with the single exception of an allowance for reasonable funeral expenses.

Inland Revenue (Business Support Teams)

Brian Cotter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many small businesses have received assistance from the Inland Revenue's Business Support Teams in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 16 June 2003
	The Inland Revenue set up its Business Support Teams in 1999 to provide help and support to businesses and employers, particularly new and small businesses, on dealing with income tax and national insurance contributions, and payroll matters.
	In 200001 they assisted:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Employers with fewer than 10 employees 37,565 
			 Employers with 10 or more employees 25,131 
			 Businesses 7,539 
			 Prospective businesses 1,815 
		
	
	In addition, 37,547 individuals representing both employers and businesses attended technical presentations given by Business Support Teams.
	In 200102 they assisted:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Employers with fewer than 10 employees 41,652 
			 Employers with 10 or more employees 20,280 
			 Businesses 20,891 
			 Prospective businesses 3,568 
		
	
	In addition, 45,767 individuals representing both employers and businesses attended technical presentations given by Business Support Teams.
	In 200203 they assisted:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Employers with fewer than 10 employees 40,839 
			 Employers with 10 or more employees 18,135 
			 Businesses 36,074 
			 Prospective businesses 5,318 
		
	
	In addition, 64,418 individuals representing both employers and businesses attended technical presentations given by Business Support Teams.

Iraq

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether there are restrictions on imports and exports to Iraq, save those set out in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1483.

Nigel Griffiths: I have been asked to reply.
	On 22 May 2003 the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1483 (2003). Among other things this Resolution lifted all trade and financial restrictions on Iraq, but retains the arms embargo. The terms of UNSCR 1483 will be implemented by the issue of a revocation Order under 1939 Act and following Privy Council approval, of the Orders made in Council under the UN Act 1946 all of which will come into force on 14 June 2003.
	Import and export restrictions will continue to apply in respect of goods subject to control as detailed in Orders made under the Import, Export and Customs Powers (defence) Act 1939.

Millennium Development Targets

Martin Caton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has held with other Governments on financing the Millennium Development targets.

John Healey: The UK Government continues to press the urgent case for an International Finance Facility to raise the additional finance needed to meet the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 in all relevant national and international fora and with both developed and developing country governments.
	Support has been achieved through events such as the Chief Secretary's visit to Ethiopia, Ghana and South Africa earlier this month; an official level visit to Rwanda to address the eighth meeting of the HIPC Finance Ministers on the IFF; and a Treasury representation at the Annual Economic Commission for African Finance Ministers in Addis Ababa. At this meeting Ministers issued a Communique stating we strongly welcome the proposed International Finance Facility as the first of its kind designed to mobilise additional resources for the poorest countries to meet the MDGs.
	The Development Committee and the IMFC discussed the IFF at the Spring Meetings in April and the Development Committee will raise it again at the Annual Meetings. Agreement was made in the Communique of the last G7 Finance Ministerial meeting to continue to focus on the Millennium Development Goals, and their financing, including facilities. At the G8 Summit in Evian, Heads of State requested that Finance Ministers report back on the IFF in advance of the Annual Meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in September 2003. The Treasury also continues to discuss the IFF in European meetings, including ECOFIN, at both Ministerial and official level.

Motorcycle Equipment (VAT)

Lembit �pik: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to reduce the rate of VAT levied on motorcycle (a) protective clothing, (b) replacement helmet visors, (c) safety equipment and (d) security equipment; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: Under our long-standing formal agreements with our European partners, we are permitted to keep our existing zero rates but may not extend them or introduce new ones. As such, it is not possible to remove VAT from the items mentioned. Member states are permitted to introduce reduced rates of VAT on a prescribed list of goods and services set out in Annex H of the EC Sixth VAT Directive. However, none of the items mentioned currently feature on this list, and we cannot therefore apply a reduced rate to them at this time. The Annex H list is due to be reviewed by the European Commission later this year, and we will consider any representations for new reduced rates in the context of this review.

Mutuality Principles

Adrian Bailey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the potential of the principles of mutuality in the delivery of local government services.

John Healey: In order to improve service delivery at local and community level, the Government have looked at new structures for collaboration between local authorities and other organisations, including mutual organisations. We are aware of the potential of the mutual sector to complement local authority services in areas such as child care provision, social housing, leisure and community transport. We encourage local authorities to explore such options and opportunities in order to bring improvements in the delivery of local government services.

National Insurance (Top-up Payments)

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total value is in (a) real terms and (b) cash terms of the total amount paid in national insurance top-up payments in each year since 199293.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is given in the table.
	
		 million
		
			  National insurance class 3 contributionsreceipts, UK 
			 Financial year (a) Real terms (200102 prices) (b) Cash terms 
		
		
			 199293 68 54 
			 199394 50 41 
			 199495 70 58 
			 199596 63 54 
			 199697 74 65 
			 199798 77 70 
			 199899 59 55 
			 19992000 62 59 
			 200001 60 58 
			 200102 75 75 
		
	
	Note:
	Real term prices calculated using the HMT GDP deflator series.
	Source:
	The Government Actuary's Department has provided these estimates.

Tax Credits

Patsy Calton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has for reducing delays for people applying for tax credits.

Dawn Primarolo: I would refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave on 12 June 2003, Official Report, column 823, to the hon. Member for Hertford and Stortford (Mr. Prisk), and the hon. Member for South-West Bedfordshire (Andrew Selous), on 12 June 2003, Official Report, column 828.

Tax Credits

Patsy Calton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what target he has for the time taken to process claims for tax credits.

Dawn Primarolo: I would refer the hon. Member to the Inland Revenue Departmental Report 2003 (Cm 5925) and to the Inland Revenue Service Delivery Agreement 200306 (updated May 2003). Both are available on the Inland Revenue website at: www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk

WALES

Agency Workers

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many agency workers have been employed by the Department in each of the last two years; and at what cost to public funds.

Peter Hain: During the last two financial years five posts in my Department have had to be covered by agency workers at some stage or other. The number of individual agency workers who were employed in each year, and their cost, was:
	
		Agency workers employed
		
			 Financial year Number Cost  
		
		
			 200102 11 35,000 
			 200203 10 56,600

Employment

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what projects are being put in place in Wales to increase employment opportunities for people over 55.

Peter Hain: New Deal 50 plus is the programme that helps increase the employability of unemployed people aged 50 and over including the over 55s. Five thousand people in Wales have found employment under New Deal 50 plus since the programme was set up in 2000.
	Unemployed people in Wales aged 50 and over also have immediate access to the work-based training grants (WBLA). Such access is not available in England or Scotland.
	The Age Positive team, which is part of the Department for Work and Pensions, promotes age diversity in employment. The team aims to increase the number of people aged 50 and over who are in employment, encourages employers to use age-diverse practices, analyses the position of older workers in the employment market and shares good practice internationally. An Age Positive campaign was launched in Cardiff on 9 June 2003.

Overseas Visits

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list 
	(1)  (a) the location, (b) the purpose and (c) the cost of each overseas visit made by members of his Department since 1999;
	(2)  how much his Department has spent on overseas visits in each year since 1999.

Peter Hain: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) by the Minister of State for the Cabinet Office on 22 January 2003, Official Report, column 334W. The Wales Office is committed to ensuring that staff use the most efficient and economic means when accompanying Ministers on overseas visits. All travel is undertaken fully in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

Rural Economy

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with (a) First Minister of the National Assembly, (b) the National Farmers Union of Wales, (c) the Farmers Union of Wales and (d) the Country Land and Business Association on the impact on the Welsh rural economy of the decreasing number of agricultural holdings in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: holding answer 16 June 2003
	I have regular meetings with the First Secretary to discuss a variety of issues in relation to agriculture. I have not yet met with any of the farming unions or the Country Land and Business Association.
	As with most rural issues, agriculture is fully devolved to the Assembly and it would therefore be for the Welsh Assembly Government to handle these issues. However, my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales has regular meetings with the Assembly Minister for Environment, Planning and the Countryside to discuss a variety of issues. My ministerial colleague and I would be happy to meet with representatives from the Farming Unions and the Country Land and Business Association.

Rural Proofing

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last met the chairman of the Countryside Agency to discuss rural proofing.

Peter Hain: I have not met with the chairman of the Countryside Agency to discuss rural proofing. The Countryside Agency is an English body, which is responsible for countryside issues in England only. The Welsh equivalent is the Countryside Council for Wales, which is the Government's statutory adviser on sustaining natural beauty, wildlife and the opportunity for outdoor enjoyment in Wales and its inshore waters.
	As with most rural issues, the matter is fully devolved to the Assembly and it would therefore be for the Welsh Assembly Government to handle these issues. However, my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales has regular meetings with the Assembly Minister for Environment, Planning and the Countryside to discuss a variety of issues. My ministerial colleague and I would be happy to meet with representatives from the Countryside Council for Wales.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Hilary Benn: A DFID humanitarian adviser has recently returned from an assessment mission in Ituri. The first humanitarian priority for people in Ituri is basic security. The fighting in the area frequently targets civilians. Casualties and victims among civilians are far more numerous than those among fighters. After security, medical services, clean water, sanitation, distribution of relief items and shelter are priorities. People displaced by fighting are in the most urgent need. As a result of the assessment mission, we have allocated up to 5 million to finance proposals we expect to receive shortly from UNICEF, Save the Children and other agencies working in the area. We have already agreed a grant of 450,000 to Merlin for emergency health care in Ituri. In addition, DFID recently provided 1 million to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) for its Emergency Humanitarian Initiative in Ituri and other emergency situations in the DRC.
	The UK is working at different levels to try to address these needs. We are supporting the wider peace process in the DRC and are contributors to the UN Mission in Congo (MONUC) and the Interim Emergency Multinational Force (IEMF) to try to bring about an improvement in security.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what assessment he has made of (a) the availability of clean water and (b) the availability and distribution of other essential provisions for displaced persons in Ituri, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Hilary Benn: Following on from the report of DFID's humanitarian adviser who visited north Kivu and Ituri during the week of 2 June 2003, we have assessed that clean water and relief items, including food, are a priority. Following this assessment mission, we have allocated up to 5 million to finance proposals from international NGOs and UN agencies to meet urgent humanitarian needs in Ituri.
	We have also provided 1 million to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) for Emergency Humanitarian Interventions in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and have agreed with the UN that Ituri will be a priority for these funds.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what support his Department is giving to displaced persons in Ituri, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Hilary Benn: A DFID humanitarian adviser visited Ituri in early June 2003 to have detailed discussions with humanitarian agencies about their support needs. As a result, we have allocated up to 5 million to finance proposals we expect to receive shortly from UNICEF, Save the Children and other agencies working in the area. We have already agreed a grant of 450,000 to Merlin for emergency health care in Ituri. In addition, DFID recently provided 1 million to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) for its Emergency Humanitarian Initiative in Ituri and other emergency situations in the DRC.
	The UK is also contributing to the Interim Emergency Multinational Force for the stabilisation of Bunia, and is committed to helping the parties to the wider conflict in DRC to reach a lasting and peaceful solution through the early establishment of the proposed Transitional National Government. Only by achieving this can displaced people return home confident of their security and prospects for the future.

Export Control Act

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what discussions the Department has had with the Department of Trade and Industry on the secondary orders for the Export Control Act 2002; and whether the Department proposed under changes to the draft orders before they were published.

Hilary Benn: Strategic export control policy is agreed by the four Departments involved in export licensing and policyDFID, DTI, FCO and MOD. DFID was fully consulted prior to the publication of the January 2003 consultation document on secondary legislation.

Food Aid

Michael Fallon: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what steps he is taking to ensure that food aid from UK charities and non-governmental organisations is reaching people in the affected areas of Zimbabwe.

Hilary Benn: It is a fundamental principle of the international humanitarian system that food aid be distributed to all those in most need of assistanceregardless of political affiliation. Food aid provided by the UN, bilateral donors and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) is distributed in accordance with clear criteria of vulnerability. The selection of beneficiaries is developed and checked through registration exercises within the community, and food is distributed by NGOs outside of government systems.
	Both the UN and DFID have detailed monitoring mechanisms in place to check that food is being distributed according to the agreed humanitarian principles and selection criteria, and that problems are investigated as they arise and adjustments made on an on-going basis. The UN and NGOs are committed to investigating all complaints and problems that arise and to resolve these wherever possible.
	UK NGOs and charities are playing a vital role in responding to the crisis in Zimbabwe, and DFID's country team supports and assists those present in Zimbabwe. DFID would be grateful for details of any specific concerns or complaints so that these may be investigated.

Iraq

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what sources of expertise the Department has used for measures to restore water services in Iraq.

Hilary Benn: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), UN agencies, and the Coalition Provisional Authority have made available information on water services in Iraq.
	DFID's support for the water and sanitation sector in Iraq is channelled through the ICRC, UN agencies and NGOs, which have their own sources of technical expertise working in collaboration with Iraqi water managers on the ground. A DFID adviser, working with the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad, specialises in infrastructure issues, including water supply.

Liberia

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development whether his Department has suspended humanitarian aid to Liberia due to the recent escalation of fighting in Liberia.

Hilary Benn: We have increased our support to UN and other humanitarian aid agencies by 1.5 million in response to the displacement by fighting of up to 200,000 people into and around Monrovia. The first two grants we have made from this sum are to ICRC and Merlin. This is additional to the 1 million we provided for International Committee of the Red Cross and Mdecins Sans Frontires in Liberia earlier this year.
	This year we have also given a total of 3 million to humanitarian agencies in Guinea and Sierra Leone for programmes directed at or including Liberian refugees.

Liberia

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what support the Department is providing to refugees who have fled recent fighting in Liberia.

Hilary Benn: We have provided a total of 3 million this year to UN and other agencies for programmes in Sierra Leone and Guinea providing services either wholly or partly for Liberian refugees.
	We have also provided 1 million for International Committee of the Red Cross and Mdecins Sans Frontires in Liberia. In response to the recent advances by opposition forces, we have allocated an additional 1.5 million, focusing on assistance to internally displaced people in and around Monrovia, whose situation is causing greatest concern.

Liberia

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development whether the Department supports projects working with the Government of Liberia to reduce poverty in Liberia.

Hilary Benn: We have no projects directly with the Government of Liberia. The nature of the present Government and the absence of security prevents the establishment of projects to promote development and poverty reduction.
	Our activity in Liberia is confined to support for international agencies providing humanitarian relief. We have provided a total of 2.5 million this year for this purpose, including 1.5 million in response to the recent displacement of people into and around Monrovia.
	The UK strongly supports the efforts of ECOWAS to negotiate a ceasefire. This the necessary first step towards peace and security, which are the conditions needed for development and poverty reduction programmes to be put in place.

Liberia

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development if he will make a statement on the impact of recent fighting in Liberia on the Department's work in (a) Liberia and (b) Sierra Leone.

Hilary Benn: There has been no direct impact on our work in Sierra Leone. We have, this year, contributed 1.4 million to UNICEF, ICRC and UNHCR in Sierra Leone. The grant to UNHCR is specifically for care of Liberian refugees. Those to ICRC and UNICEF are for services that include refugees. The instability in Liberia underlines the importance of the strengthening of the security sector in Sierra Leone, which is a key part of our programme.
	We have no bilateral programme in Liberia. We support humanitarian programmes managed by UN and other agencies. Earlier this year, we provided 1 million to ICRC and Mdecins Sans Frontires. In response to the recent worsening of the situation, we have agreed an additional 1.5 million for humanitarian activity. The first two grants from this sum have been to ICRC and Merlin.

WORK AND PENSIONS

British Sign Language

Candy Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his answer of 7 April 2003, Official Report, column 85W, on British sign language, what action is being taken to ensure that (a) rural areas and (b) Cornwall are represented on the consultation regarding the additional funding for raising awareness of British sign language; and if he will list those being consulted on how the additional funding should be allocated.

Maria Eagle: We are in the process of establishing a BSL working group comprising organisations of and for deaf people and Government Departments to facilitate the process of consultation. The organisations represented on the working group are the British Deaf Association, the Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People, the Federation of Deaf People, the National Deaf Children's Society, The Royal National Institute for Deaf People and the UK Council on Deafness. The working group will be coming forward with proposals for our approval.

Carers

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on his policy on the eligibility of carers of people who are affected by asbestosis for carers benefit.

Maria Eagle: People aged 16 or over who care for a person with asbestosis are entitled to carer's allowance if they meet the usual qualifying conditions for the benefit. The person they care for must also receive either attendance allowance, the middle or highest rate care component of disability living allowance or the equivalent rate of constant attendance allowance paid under the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit scheme or the War Disablement Pensions scheme.

Crisis Loans

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria the Department has for awarding crisis loans.

Maria Eagle: Crisis loans can be paid to anyone in an emergency or as a result of a disaster, when they have no other means of preventing serious damage or risk to their, or a member of their family's, health or safety. The applicant does not have to be in receipt of any benefit or pension, but any income or capital which they have will usually be taken into account by the decision maker.
	Part 3 of the Discretionary Social Fund Guide (para 4700 et seq.), a copy of which is in the Library provides examples of the circumstances in which a crisis loan can be awarded.

Child Support Agency

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimates he has made of the rate of (a) cash and (b) case compliance under the new Child Support Scheme.

Malcolm Wicks: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Webb, dated 23 May 2003
	The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in replying to your recent parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked what estimates have been made of the rate of (a) cash and (b) case compliance under the new Child Support Scheme.
	I will be providing the Secretary of State with a full set of information after the first quarter of the Agency's business year. The Secretary of State intends to report this information to the House.

DEFENCE

Armed Services Accommodation

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent on renting private accommodation for armed services personnel (a) in the last financial year and (b) this financial year to date.

Ivor Caplin: The following figures show expenditure on substitute Service accommodation in Great Britain rented by the Ministry of Defence from the private sector when accommodation according to entitlement, within daily travelling distance from the work place, could not otherwise be provided for Service personnel and their families.
	
		
			   million 
		
		
			 Financial year 200203 33.8 
			 1 April to 31 May 2003 5.7 
		
	
	Roughly one third of the figures quoted is for family accommodation.

Armed Services Accommodation

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much (a) single living accommodation and (b) service family accommodation was empty in each month since July 2002; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: The figures for empty single living accommodation are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The approximate figures for vacant Service Family Accommodation (SFA) in mainland United Kingdom at the end of each month from July 2002 to May 2003 are as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 July 2002 9,000 
			 August 2002 9,100 
			 September 2002 9,100 
			 October 2002 9,200 
			 November 2002 9,300 
			 December 2002 9,300 
			 January 2003 9,100 
			 February 2003 9,200 
			 March 2003 8,200 
			 April 2003 8,200 
			 May 2003 8,300 
		
	
	Since January 2000, some 12,000 surplus SFA have been released for disposal. The disposal programme will continue, but the numbers released are constrained by Service deployment uncertainties.

BSkyB

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effects of the recent decision by BSkyB to turn off BBC TV and radio on the provision of a TV and radio service for the British forces living and working in Italy.

Ivor Caplin: The Ministry of Defence is aware of changes introduced recently by various broadcasters, including the BBC, to restrict reception within Europe in compliance with international rights and licence agreements. It is with these agreements in mind that the Ministry of Defence provides bespoke radio and television services overseas to British service personnel and their families (the entitled audience) under the banner of the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) through a contract with the Services Sound and Vision Corporation (SSVC) which is an independent limited company and registered charity. The availability of BFBS services to any specific location is, however, subject to practicality and affordability. The MOD is, in conjunction with SSVC and British command staffs based in Naples, currently reviewing the means by which it may be possible to extend the BFBS television service to entitled personnel in the Naples area and other locations in Italy. The deliberations are being undertaken independently of, and without reference to, any changes introduced by other broadcasters.

Colchester Garrison

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements he has made for security and management matters at the Colchester Garrison resulting from the disposal for civilian occupation of dwellings previously occupied by Service families; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: There are regular routine patrols by Military and Ministry of Defence police. However, the properties in Colchester that are included in the disposals programme are not 'on camp' but are a mile or so from the unit and near a main road and there have never been any access restrictions. Vigilance is maintained, where properties are unoccupied, in order to discourage vandalism, and no serious problems have been reported.

Colchester Garrison

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 9 June 2003, Official Report, column 649W, on Colchester Garrison, 
	(1)  how many of the four-bedroomed services family houses are to be disposed of; how many other dwellings are to be disposed of; when this will occur; and what the arrangements are for the disposal;
	(2)  if he will offer the empty service family houses at Colchester Garrison to Colchester borough council.

Adam Ingram: 40 Service family houses in Colchester are being disposed of in March 2004, of which 24 are four-bedroomed and 16 three-bedroomed. These properties have been selected for disposal because they are of lesser quality than other properties in the area and are in an estate which is not popular with Service families.
	The Ministry of Defence will hand the surplus properties back to their owner, Annington Homes Limited (AHL) in accordance with the sales agreement of November 1996, when AHL purchased most of the Service family housing in England and Wales. AHL will decide whether to retain or sell them, and the MOD has no influence over this decision. The local authority may wish to negotiate with AHL over the lease or purchase of the properties.

Congo

Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British troops will be deployed to the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of a United Nations peacekeeping force.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 9 June 2003
	The United Kingdom currently contributes six UK military personnel to the UN peacekeeping mission (MONUC) that has been operating in the DRC since 13 November 1999.
	In addition, as I announced in the House on 12 June 2003, Official Report, column 849), the UK has offered a small contribution to the EU-led multinational force being deployed to Bunia in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We have offered five staff officers for the Force Headquarters in theatre, a liaison officer to work with the UN, some Hercules transport aircraft to help deploy the force and a small detachment of engineers. The precise number of personnel will not be known until we have completed a detailed analysis of the engineer tasks to be undertaken in Bunia. This is not a UN force but is EU-led as a European Security and Defence Policy operation.

Defence Estate (West Sussex)

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the extent is of the defence estate in West Sussex.

Ivor Caplin: The extent of the defence estate in West Sussex is currently 678.5 hectares. This can be broken down as follows:
	
		
			 Occupied by Site Hectares 
		
		
			 Army Roussillion barracks, Chichester 11 
			 Army Baker barracks, Thorney Island 667 
			 Meteorological office Pease Pottage, near Crawley 0.03 
			 Meteorological office Birchfield house, Ifield road, Charlwood 0.02 
			 Reserve Forces Little High street, Worthing 0.06 
			 Reserve Forces Kilnmead, Crawley 0.37 
		
	
	Properties occupied by the Army Cadet Force and Air Training Corps have not been included.

Environmental Monitoring (Dundrennan)

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on recent environmental monitoring results at Dundrennan.

Ivor Caplin: On 24 February 2003, we published our report on the use of new and more sensitive monitoring equipment to search for any previously undetected depleted uranium fragments around the gun positions and along the firing lines. The results of this survey confirm the findings of the routine environmental monitoring programme and the adequacy of the existing safety precautions. A copy of this report has been sent to the local council.

Executive Agencies

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people work for the Defence Export Services Organisation; how many are employed in Scotland; what the personnel costs of the agency are; and how these figures compare to 2002.

Ivor Caplin: The Defence Export Services Organisation (DESO) employed 615 service and civilian personnel at the end of April 2003, compared with 595 a year previously. Three DESO personnel, employed through the Disposal Services Agency, were employed in Scotland at each of these points.
	The personnel costs of the organisation for the relevant years, part of which are met from receipts, are as follows:
	
		Personnel cost
		
			 Financial year  million 
		
		
			 200102 26.8 
			 200203 28.8 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures for numbers employed are full-time equivalents. Personnel numbers and costs include Disposal Services Agency staff.

Executive Agencies

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people work for the Ministry of Defence police; how many are employed in Scotland; what the personnel costs of the agency are; and how these figures compare to 2002.

Ivor Caplin: As at 1 June 2003, 3,267 police officers and 320 civilian staff were employed by the Ministry of Defence Police Agency, as compared to 3,322 police officers and 278 civilian staff on 1 June 2002. As at 1 June 2003, 776 police officers and 38 civilian staff were employed in Scotland, as compared to 801 police officers and 38 civilian staff on 1 June 2002 . The personnel costs of the MDP agency for financial year 200102 were 153 million. The chief constable's accounts for financial year 200203 are currently being audited by the National Audit Office.

Executive Agencies

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people work for the Defence Aviation Repair Agency; how many are employed in Scotland; what the personnel costs of the agency are; and how these figures compare to 2002.

Ivor Caplin: As at 1 April 2003 there were 4,060 people working for the Defence Aviation Repair Agency (DARA) of which 306 employees were employed in Scotland. The annual personnel costs of the agency as at 1 January 2003 were 110 million. For the comparable 12 month period as at 1 April 2002 there were 4,343 DARA employees of which 317 were employed in Scotland. The comparable annual personnel costs of the agency as at 1 January 2002 were 120 million.

Executive Agencies

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people work for the British Forces Post Office; how many are employed in Scotland; what the personnel costs of the agency are; and how these figures compare to 2002.

Ivor Caplin: The British Forces Post Office (BFPO) agency employed a total of 554 (557 in the previous year) staff (full-time equivalent) as at 31 March 2003.
	In Scotland the BFPO agency currently employs nine full-time staff (this figure is unchanged from 2002). Eight staff are employed at its Defence Mail Centre in Glasgow, plus one driver who works for our Defence Courier Service.
	The personnel costs for BFPO for the respective reporting years ended 31 March were:
	
		
			   million 
		
		
			 200102 12.009 
			 200203 13.461

Executive Agencies

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people work for the Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency; how many are employed in Scotland; what the personnel costs of the agency are; and how these figures compare to 2002.

Ivor Caplin: The Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency was disestablished in October 2000. Part of the organisation was restructured and became the Defence Clothing Integrated Project Team (IPT) in April 2001.
	As at April 2003 there were 233 people working for the IPT. There are no staff employed in Scotland. The annual personnel costs of the IPT for financial year 200304 are estimated to be approximately 6.3 million. For the comparable 12-month period as at April 2002 there were 268 IPT employees, again with no employees in Scotland. The comparable annual personnel costs of the IPT for financial year 200203 were approximately 5.9 million.

Executive Agencies

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people work for the Defence Engineering and Science Group; how many are employed in Scotland; what the personnel costs of the agency are; and how these figures compare to 2002.

Ivor Caplin: The Defence Engineering and Science Group is not an agency. It is a classification for a group of professional civil servants employed across a wide range of agencies and organisations in the Ministry of Defence.
	Since last year we have changed the method of recording information on our civilian employees and the figures also now exclude Trading Fund Agencies. The baseline figures for 2002 therefore now comprise 8,585 engineers and scientists, of whom 899 were employed in Scotland. The figures for 2003 are 8,314 and 677 respectively.
	The personnel costs for these engineers and scientists cannot be uniquely or separately identified and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Executive Agencies

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people work for the Army Base Repair Organisation; how many are employed in Scotland; what the personnel costs of the agency are; and how these figures compare to 2002.

Ivor Caplin: ABRO (formerly known as the Army Base Repair Organisation), employed 2,600 staff, as at 1 June 2003. Of the total ABRO staff, 147 individuals are employed at Stirling, ABRO's sole workshop facility in Scotland.
	The forecast pay cost of ABRO staff for the current financial year of 200304 is 63.8 million. This figure includes 3 million for Stirling.
	In the financial year 200203 ABRO employed an average of 2,545 staff, of whom 145 worked in Stirling. The total pay cost for ABRO in 200203 was 63.9 million, which included 2.99 million spent by Stirling.

Executive Agencies

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many people work for the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency; how many are employed in Scotland; what the personnel costs of the agency are; and how these figures compare to 2002;
	(2)  how many people work for the Defence Scientific and Technical Laboratory; how many are employed in Scotland; what the personnel costs of the agency are; and how these figures compare to 2002.

Ivor Caplin: The Defence Evaluation and Research Agency was disestablished on 1 July 2001, when two new organisations, QinetiQ and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), were created. QinetiQ is a plc, and all operational inquiries should be addressed to the Chief Executive. Dstl remains a part of the Ministry of Defence.
	On 1 June 2003, the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) employed 3,145 staff (compared to 3,037 in January 2002). Of these, 46 (compared with 54 in January 2002) were employed in Scotland. Dstl's paybill (which includes total pay, casual allowances, ERNIC and pension costs) averaged 9.03 million per month (compared with 8.56 million in January 2002) over the year to 31 March 2003.

Executive Agencies

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place copies of the Naval Manning Agency's annual reports for 200001 and 200102 in the Library.

Ivor Caplin: Copies of the Naval Manning Agency's annual reports are routinely placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The 200102 report was available in the Library of the House on 10 October 2002.

Gulf Deployment

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) plans and (b) provision his Department has made for transporting troops no longer involved in active operational duties in the Gulf back to the UK; what the timetable is for returning troops home; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: United Kingdom Military Campaign Objectives contain a commitment to withdraw British Military Forces from Iraq as soon as practicable. Regular announcements on 11 April 2003, Official Report, columns 3839WS, 30 April 2003, Official Report, columns 1516WS and 11 June 2003, Official Report, columns 5253WS, have been made outlining in some detail the plans and arrangements for moving UK forces to and from the Middle East, and these will continue.
	The planning process is dynamic and we will continue to review our force levels to ensure that we maintain an appropriate military presence for as long as is necessary.

Infantry Regiments

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to reduce the number of infantry regiments.

Adam Ingram: There are no plans to reduce the number of infantry regiments.

Iraq Survey Group

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence to what extent the costs of the Iraqi survey group will be met by (a) coalition forces and (b) the proposed Iraqi assistance fund.

Geoff Hoon: On current plans, costs in respect of units and personnel contributed to the Iraq Survey Group will be met by the contributing nations. Costs in respect of the continued disarmament of Iraq, for example decontamination of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) sites or long-term storage of WMD materials, may be met from the Development Fund for Iraq, consistent with the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people and as set out; in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1483 (2003).

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps the Government will take to verify the origin of material linked to weapons of mass destruction found in Iraq.

Geoff Hoon: Coalition forces in Iraq have dedicated resources to conducting investigations into sites, personnel, documentation and other forms of evidence that may be connected to programmes to develop weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The objective of these investigations will be to account for Iraqi WMD and related facilities and ensure that these are no longer a threat. Where possible and practicable, we will also aim to identify the origin of any materials linked to Iraqi WMD programmes where these materials may have been supplied in breach of sanctions imposed by the United Nations or other international agreements.

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many alleged sites of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq identified by the Government are fully secured by coalition forces; and how many have yet to be (a) secured and (b) inspected.

Geoff Hoon: As at 7 June 2003, Coalition forces had initiated investigations into 140 sites within Iraq, from a list of over 500, which may be connected to programmes to develop weapons of mass destruction. Additionally, investigations had been initiated into a further 74 sites identified since the conflict began. We anticipate that further sites will be identified as investigations progress. Where these sites are thought to contain materials which may relate to weapons of mass destruction programmes, or otherwise contain hazardous substances, Coalition forces are taking action to secure them.

Unexploded Ordnance

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department is working with NGOs in Iraq to educate the public about the dangers of unexploded ordnance.

Adam Ingram: Providing a safe, secure and risk free environment for the Iraqi people is a key aspect of restoration activity for the Coalition. The United Kingdom itself has made a significant effort to educate the local population in its area of operations about the dangers of mines and unexploded ordnance. A Theatre Mine Risk Education Programme has been developed with the support of UNICEF and the ICRC. A poster and leaflet campaign has been carried out, head teachers in Basrah have been briefed and military teams are delivering mine and unexploded ordnance awareness training to Primary and Secondary schools on a daily basis using material approved by the ICRC. In addition to this local radio stations are informing the local population about unexploded ordnance and encouraging them not to tamper with anything that has either been marked as or may look like unexploded ordnance.

Medical Distribution Network

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the British army is doing to restore the medical distribution network in Iraq.

Ivor Caplin: United Kingdom forces are working with the local health authority and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to re-stock the central Basrah warehouse, from which drugs and pharmaceuticals were supplied before the war. They have also provided security for the warehouse and for deliveries to local medical facilities. These medical facilities have been visited on a regular basis. UK forces are also working with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and NGOs to correct any deficiencies there might be in drugs for chronic illnesses. Along with the WHO, we are monitoring humanitarian donations ensuring that they are appropriate and properly used. The Office of the Provisional Coalition Authority in Baghdad intends to reintroduce routine re-supply in the near future.

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the bunker-buster missiles used in Iraq were tipped with depleted uranium.

Adam Ingram: There is no air-launched ordnance containing depleted uranium in United Kingdom service.

Operation TELIC

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) reservists and (b) regulars on Operation TELIC have been medically downgraded, broken down by service; what percentage of the force deployed by each service these figures represent; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Parliamentary Questions

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in response to how many parliamentary written questions during the 200203 session he has decided to withhold information under the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information; and what percentage of written questions asked this constitutes.

Ivor Caplin: holding answer 13 June 2003
	During the current session 3,160 parliamentary written questions have been tabled to the Ministry of Defence. From the information available on our database, information was withheld in 142 questions under the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. This is equivalent to 4 per cent. In some instances a Code exemption will have been cited to withhold only part of the information requested.
	The hon. Member will be aware that the Select Committee on Public Administration publish this information in their report 'Ministerial Accountability and Parliamentary Questions'. Their last report was published on 13 December 2000 for Session 200001.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Liberia

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what action he has taken to support the extradition of President Taylor of Liberia;
	(2)  what steps the Department is taking to help bring peace to Liberia;
	(3)  if he will make a statement on (a) the UN indictment of Charles Taylor for war crimes and (b) his Department's work to reduce conflict in Liberia;
	(4)  if he will make a statement on the impact of UN sanctions against Liberia.

Chris Mullin: On 4 June 2003 the Special Court for Sierra Leone unsealed an indictment for President Charles Taylor of Liberia for bearing the greatest responsibility for war crimes, crimes against humanity and other serious violations of international humanitarian law in Sierra Leone since 1996. The UK has called on President Taylor to hand himself over to the Special Court. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1470 calls on all countries to cooperate with the Special Court.
	The UK has been instrumental in containing Taylor's Liberia through UN sanctions aimed at stopping the funding of arms purchases, a travel ban on those who breach the arms embargo and a ban on timber exports which takes effect on 7 July. We are working through the International Contact Group on Liberia, the UN and the EU to encourage all sides to participate actively in peace negotiations taking place in Akasombo, Ghana. Our aim is an immediate cease-fire and a comprehensive negotiated political settlement.

Sierra Leone

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the lifting of sanctions on conflict diamonds in Sierra Leone.

Bill Rammell: I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement that I made today.

Burma

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has made to the Burmese Government on their recent arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Mike O'Brien: The UK has made numerous representations to the Burmese Authorities. The British Embassy in Rangoon has repeatedly sought access to National League for Democracy (NLD) leaders Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and U Tin Oo. On 2 June we called in the Burmese Ambassador to the UK to express the British Government's deep concern over recent events in Burma and again spoke to him on 3 June. On 6 June I spoke to the Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister to reiterate our concern and to call for substantive and meaningful dialogue with the democratic movement. On 9 June the EU dmarched the Burmese Government calling for the immediate release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her party officials and for the reopening of universities and NLD offices. With our EU partners we are considering what further steps we will take if the regime does not provide immediate satisfactory responses.

Burma

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Burmese authorities about the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend, the Member for Tamworth (Brian Jenkins) today (UIN 119262).

Congo

Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the prospects for peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with particular reference to Ituri province.

Chris Mullin: I refer the hon. Member to the Statement given to the House on 12 June 2003, Official Report, column 849, by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Defence (Mr. Ingram) .

Congo

Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions the Government has had with the (a) Rwandan and (b) Ugandan Governments regarding the supply of arms to the Lendu and Hema tribes in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Chris Mullin: We are in regular contact with the Governments of Rwanda and Uganda and continue to call on them, and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), to stop all support to armed groups in Ituri. UNSCR 1484 of 30 May demanded the cessation of all support, in particular weapons and any other military materiel, to the armed groups and militias and that all Congolese parties and all states in the region actively prevent the supply of such support.
	The UK continues to uphold the EU arms embargo (imposed 7 April 1993), which bans the export of military equipment from the EU to the DRC, and to examine all export licence applications against our national criteria and the EU Code of Conduct.

Aid to Women

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 6 May 2003, Official Report, column 567W, on democratisation, what proportion of the (a) Global Conflict Prevention Pool, (b) Human Rights Project Fund, (c) the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, (d) British Council, (e) Africa Conflict Prevention Pool and (f) Global Opportunities Fund monies provide assistance directly to women.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 10 June 2003
	Assistance to women is not accounted for as a distinct FCO budget line. Separately identifying all the activities within these programmes that directly provide assistance to women could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost. However, we can identify activities which by their nature are likely to provide some assistance to women:
	(a) The Global Conflict Prevention Pool supports a number of initiatives that bring a gender perspective into its conflict prevention activities. For instance, under the Indonesia/East Timor Strategy, the Global Pool is helping UNIFEM's Women, Peace and Security Programme gather information on women's peacebuilding and gender justice initiatives, and is helping the Department for Peacekeeping Operations implement its new guidelines on mainstreaming gender in peace operations. Given that 90 per cent. of those killed, wounded, abused or displaced in conflict are women or children, focusing people's attention on women in conflict is a natural corollary of Conflict Prevention Pool activity;
	(b) The Human Rights Project Fund has allocated 624,050 (9 per cent.) of this year's 7.1 million budget to womens' rights projects;
	(c) The Westminster Foundation for Democracy has committed 440,000 (19 per cent.) out of 2.32 million allocated so far this year to projects directly supporting women;
	(d) Much of British Council activity is geared towards young people, men and women, but of its work on governance 1.1 million (9 per cent.) out of 12.1 million specifically relates to women's projects;
	(e) The Africa Conflict Prevention Pool promotes peace and security in Africa as a necessary condition of development. Peace, security and development benefit men, women and children alike. There is growing evidence that the most vulnerable groups in society, including women, children and the aged are among the principal victims of modern African conflicts. Efforts to reduce conflict are therefore potentially of greater benefit to these groups; and
	(f) The Global Opportunities Fund has just been launched and will be used to reinforce work in five main thematic areas, including human rights and good governance. Funding will be channelled first to programmes and then, through these, to projects. Five programmes are being launched this financial year. We are not yet able to confirm how funds will be allocated, but we are committed to working with women in all areas, particularly through the programmes on Engagement with the Islamic World, Good Governance in EU Applicant Countries and Near Neighbours, and Strengthening our Relations with Emerging Markets.

Indonesia

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what mechanism has been established to monitor and report on the use of Hawk fighter jets in Indonesia.

Mike O'Brien: I visited Indonesia on 34 June, and raised the issue of the use of Hawk aircraft with senior Members of the Indonesian Government, including President Megawati. I warned the Indonesian Government of the possible consequences for defence sales and our defence relationship if Hawk aircraft are used to violate human rights.
	Our embassy in Jakarta receives information from inter alia, NGOs, other foreign observers and the media as well as from the Government.

Iraq

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken to ensure that the international community has been given the opportunity to participate in the rebuilding work agreed by Coalition forces; and what form this participation and partnership has taken.

Mike O'Brien: UN Security Council Resolution 1483 gives a clear framework for international participation in the rebuilding of Iraq. Many countries are already contributing to the rebuilding process through a presence in the Coalition Provisional Authority [CPA], co-ordinated in Baghdad by the International Co-ordination Council, chaired by Polish ex-Deputy Prime Minister, Marek Belka. The UN is to hold a conference on 23 June 2003 to instigate an updated UN Flash appeal, to be followed by a conference on 24 June 2003 for countries planning to contribute to reconstruction in Iraq. The European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) is now operating in Iraq and we are encouraging the European Commission and our EU partners to maximise their contributions to reconstruction.

Iraq

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken (a) to prevent indiscriminate attacks, revenge attacks, hostage taking and collective punishment being perpetrated by Iraqi civilians and (b) to ensure that the police and security services in Iraq do not perpetrate similar acts.

Mike O'Brien: The Coalition is committed to maintaining law and order. Coalition forces are currently conducting 2,000 patrols per day, of which 200 are joint patrols with the Iraqi police. UK police experts on law enforcement and the criminal justice system are advising on the stabilisation of the security situation and rebuilding the Iraqi police.
	The Royal Military Police investigates complaints made against the Iraqi police by Iraqi civilians. I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave her today [UIN 118979].

Iraq

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken to restore and maintain public order and safety in Iraq since the ending of military action.

Mike O'Brien: Restoring public order is a top priority for the Coalition. Reporting from Baghdad indicates that progress is being made, with a significant decline in armed criminality. 2,000 Coalition patrols are conducted each day, of which 200 are joint patrols with the Iraqi police.
	Over 2,000 Iraqi police have returned to work in the UK-divisional area in Southern Iraq and 9,000 in Baghdad. I am told that 18 Iraqi police stations in Baghdad are now operating 24 hours a day with 23 more scheduled to reopen by 30 June 2003. UK police experts on law enforcement and the criminal justice system are advising on the stabilisation of the security situation and rebuilding the police service. UK forces have been conducting joint patrols with the Iraqi police since 13 April 2003 in Basra.

Iraq

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken to ensure that Iraqis serving in the police and security services are subject to a vetting process to ensure no individuals suspected of or known to have perpetrated human rights violations are given positions of influence.

Mike O'Brien: UK field security teams conducted background checks on re-registered police in the UK area. The Coalition has published an order which bars senior members of the Ba'ath Party from future positions of authority including in the police and security services. Those suspected of criminal conduct are investigated and detained if necessary.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcohol (Public Places)

Gerry Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which local authorities have made use of orders banning consumption of alcohol in public places; and what percentage of local authorities this represents.

Caroline Flint: Seventy-four local authorities have so far notified the Home Office that they have made designation orders under section 13 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 to restrict anti-social public drinking in areas that have experienced alcohol-related disorder or nuisance. These are listed in the table. This represents around 18 per cent. of the total number of local authorities (county, metropolitan, unitary, borough and district councils) in England and Wales. The new arrangements introduced by the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 replaced the previous Home Office public drinking byelaw. Any such byelaw will lapse after five years from the commencement of the relevant provisions on 1 September 2001, unless replaced by a section 13 designation order.
	We have included a proposal in the Licensing Bill, currently before Parliament, that will increase police powers to confiscate alcohol in sealed alcohol containers, in addition to opened containers, from people who are drinking and causing a nuisance in designated public areas.
	Local Authorities: designation orders under section 13 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001
	Brighton  Hove City Council
	Bristol City Council
	Breckland Council
	Bromley Borough Council
	Burnley Borough Council
	Chelmsford District Council
	Cherwell District Council
	Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council
	Dacorum Borough Council
	Daventry District Council
	Denbighshire County Council
	Derby City Council
	Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council
	Eastbourne Borough Council
	Eastleigh Borough Council
	East Riding Borough Council
	East Staffordshire Borough Council
	Enfield Borough Council
	Great Yarmouth Borough Council
	Haringey Borough Council
	Harrogate Borough Council
	Herefordshire District Council
	Hyndburn Borough Council
	Kingston upon Hull City Council
	Leicester City Council
	Mendip District Council
	Macclesfield Borough Council
	Manchester City Council
	Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council
	Middlesbrough Council
	Milton Keynes Council
	Newcastle City Council
	Northampton Borough Council
	North Cornwall District Council
	North Devon District Council
	North East Lincolnshire Council
	North Norfolk District Council
	North Somerset Council
	North West Leicestershire District Council
	Oadby and Wigston Borough Council
	Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council
	Oxford City Council
	Preston City Council
	Reading Borough Council
	Redditch Borough Council
	Ribble Valley Borough Council
	Royal Kingston Borough Council
	Salisbury District Council
	Sefton Council
	Shepway District Council
	Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council
	South Bedfordshire District Council
	Southend-on-Sea Borough Council
	South Somerset District Council
	South Staffordshire Council
	Stafford Borough Council
	Stratford on Avon District Council
	Stroud District Council
	Sutton Borough Council
	Swindon Borough Council
	Taunton Deane Borough Council
	Thanet District Council
	Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council
	Warrington Borough Council
	Watford Council
	Westminster (City of)
	Weymouth  Portland Borough Council
	Wigan Council
	Windsor  Maidenhead
	Wolverhampton City Council
	Worthing Borough
	Wrexham County Borough
	Wycombe District Council
	York City Council

Antisocial Behaviour

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to curb under-age drinking as part of his strategy to tackle anti-social behaviour.

Hazel Blears: Underage drinking is one of the forms of behaviour that can be tackled by the use of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) and Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABCs), as was confirmed in the guidance A Guide to Anti-Social Behaviour Orders and Acceptable Behaviour Contracts issued on 12 November 2002. In addition, the White Paper Rights and ResponsibilityTaking a Stand Against Anti-Social Behaviour made clear the Government's intention to introduce, in the Criminal Justice Bill, a new Individual Support Order that will extend the protection that ASBOs provide to the community by requiring children and young people subject to such orders to undertake individually tailored activities, which could include attending treatment for substance misuse.
	The Anti-Social Behaviour Bill, currently before Parliament, contains measures to extend the penalty notice for disorder scheme, initially to 16 and 17-year-olds, with an option to extend it to cover all juveniles over 10. This will make it possible for juveniles involved in the type of minor, often drink-related, offending covered by the scheme to be issued with fixed penalty notices.
	The Licensing Bill now before Parliament will, if enacted, amend existing legislation to allow the police to confiscate all alcohol, whether in sealed or opened containers, from young people who are drinking in public places.
	The Home Office is also working with the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit on their project to develop a cross-governmental alcohol harm reduction strategy for England. The project is paying particular attention to issues such as alcohol-related crime and anti-social behaviour as well as the health impacts of alcohol misuse. The strategy is planned for publication in autumn 2003.

Arson

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of those people (a) prosecuted and (b) cautioned for arson offences in (i) 2000, (ii) 2001 and (iii) 2002 were between the ages of 10 and 17.

Hazel Blears: The information requested is contained in the table.
	Statistics for 2002 will be published in the autumn.
	
		Proportion of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts or cautioned for offences of arson(4) who were aged 10 to 17 -- England and Wales 2000 and 2001
		
			  Proceeded against Cautioned 
			 Year All ages Age 1017 % of all ages who were age 1017 All ages Age1017(5) % of all ages who were age 1017 
		
		
			  
			  
			 2000(6) 2,375 1,005 42 1,034 936 91 
			 2001 2,475 1,134 46 1,144 1,022 89 
		
	
	(4) These data are on the principal offence basis.
	(5) From 1 June 2000 the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 came into force nationally and removed the use of cautions for persons under 18 and replaced them with reprimands and final warnings.
	(6) Staffordshire police were only able to supply a sample of data for magistrates courts proceedings covering one full week in each quarter for 2000. Estimates based on this sample are included in the figures, as they are considered sufficiently robust at this high level of analysis.

Children (Online Safety)

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he intends to take to ensure mobile phone companies provide advice and guidance (a) to parents on how to safeguard children from access to inappropriate content and sites and (b) directly to children about online safety in general, and in particular the dangers of giving personal information to strangers in chat rooms or via the internet.

Hazel Blears: We are in discussion with providers of mobile phone services through my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary's Task Force on Child Protection on the Internet, which they have joined. A sub-group of the task force is considering with them how the models of good practice which we issued earlier this year for the fixed internet are applicable to the mobile industry. The models include advice in both these areas. I am confident that the mobile phone companies have taken notice of these issues, and I understand they will be issuing a code of practice for consultation shortly which will include proposals in these areas.
	Earlier this year, the task force ran a campaign to raise parents' and children's awareness of the risks of giving out their personal details to strangers and provide advice on using chat rooms. The evaluation of this campaign showed improved awareness of the core messages.

Consultation Exercises

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many consultation exercises his Department has held with a closing date of less than 90 days from the announcement date in the last 12 months.

David Blunkett: I would refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to the hon Member for North Southwark and Bermondsey (Simon Hughes) on 6 May 2003, Official Report, column 596W.

Emergency Vehicles (Traffic Violations)

Gerry Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many traffic violations were committed by police vehicles answering emergency calls; and how many prosecutions arose for them in the last five years.

Hazel Blears: Information is not collected centrally on the number of police vehicles involved in traffic violations.

Energy Efficiency

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what targets his Department has for improving energy efficiency; and how he intends to achieve these targets.

Fiona Mactaggart: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Margaret Beckett) on 9 June 2003, Official Report, column 581W.

Entitlement/Identity Cards

Adrian Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the analysis from the consultation on entitlement and identity cards will be complete.

Beverley Hughes: It is hoped that we will have completed our analysis of responses before the summer recess.

EU Constitution

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on those sections of the draft EU constitution relating to (a) tackling terrorism and (b) external order controls.

David Blunkett: The existing Treaty on the European Union includes preventing and combating terrorism as a Union objective and already provides for extensive police and judicial co-operation. This has been strengthened by the action agreed at the Tampere European Council in October 1999. This co-operation is in Britain's national interest as we face the threat of terrorism and has already proved its worth, for example by ensuring that all member states have effective legislation on combating terrorism.
	The effect of the new draft treaty is to draw together all the elements in the fight against terrorism in a single merged treaty. I believe it will provide a strong framework for effective EU action against terrorism in the future.
	Provisions on external border controls are also already provided for in the Treaty establishing the European Community. They are the basis of firm collective action by member states to tackle illegal immigration. Those provisions have been amended and incorporated into the new draft Constitutional Treaty. I believe they will provide the framework we need to establish strong and effective external border controls across an enlarged EU.
	Nevertheless, the United Kingdom does not intend to give up its right under the Treaties to exercise at its frontiers with other member states such controls on persons seeking to enter the United Kingdom as it considers necessary. As a consequence of this position on frontiers, the United Kingdom has not participated in certain measures relating to external borders. But, within this constraint, we will continue to seek to co-operate with EU colleagues to the maximum extent possible, without prejudice to the maintenance of our national immigration controls.
	For further information about the Government's position on the articles in the draft Constitutional Treaty dealing with the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice, as presented to the Convention by the Praesidium on 14 March, I refer the hon. Member to the Explanatory Memorandum deposited by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Jack Straw) on 2 June.

Justice and Home Affairs Council

Jimmy Hood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the outcome was of the Justice and Home Affairs Council held on 5 to 6 June; what the Government's stance was on the issues discussed, including its voting record; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The United Kingdom was represented at the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council in Luxembourg on 56 June by my noble Friend (Lord Filkin) and my noble Friend (the Baroness Scotland). The A points were approved as in document PTS A 32 and ADD 1 (9941/03) (a copy has been placed in the Library) with the exception of item 21.
	The Council concluded a political agreement on the Council Directive concerning the status of third-country nationals who are long-term residents.
	One member state retained scrutiny reservations on the Directive on minimum standards for the qualification and status of third-country nationals and stateless persons as refugees or as persons who otherwise need international protection. The Presidency remitted the Directive to COREPER with a view to securing agreement at the Thessaloniki European Council in order to meet the deadline set at the Seville Council. Member states lifted the majority of their reservations on the first two Chapters of the amended proposal for a Council Directive on minimum standards on procedures in member states for granting and withdrawing refugee status. Five member states, including the United Kingdom, also presented a joint declaration calling for a minimum common EU list of safe countries of origin to be included in the text.
	The Commission presented its Communications on illegal immigration, asylum systems and integration and employment. Lord Filkin welcomed the Communications noting that there was a need to address the crisis in Europe and across the world in the international protection system. Lord Filkin also said that the Council should consider the priorities for the Thessaloniki European Council. In particular, there was a need to integrate asylum and migration issues into the EU's relations with third countries; set targets for the conclusion of readmission agreements; and give a commitment to burden sharing. He also called for a European Returns Fund; extra Community funding for JHA activity post-2006; and agreement to take forward pilot projects to test out new approaches to international protection with interested member states and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
	The Council subsequently agreed conclusions on the effective management of the EU's external borders. A discussion on conclusions on a common policy on illegal immigration, external borders, the return of illegal immigrants and co-operation with third countries focussed on the need for a financial mechanism to assist Community return policy, which the United Kingdom supported.
	The Council agreed conclusions on the functions of SIS and the SIS II architecture and the Council Decision concerning the signature of Agreements between EU-US on extradition and mutual legal assistance. On the latter, the majority of member states, including the United Kingdom, entered declarations under Article 24(5) TEU to the effect that they would not be bound by the Agreements until they had met constitutional, or in the case of the United Kingdom, legislative requirements.
	The Council resolved the outstanding issues of principle on the Regulation concerning jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and in matters of parental responsibility on the basis of a Presidency compromise package. The Regulation was remitted to experts to address the final technical questions.
	The Council held an orientation debate on the Regulation creating a European enforcement order for uncontested civil claims during which Ministers discussed the scope of the Regulation, minimum standards for the service of claims, appeal provisions and the omission of a public policy based right to refuse enforcement. Baroness Scotland welcomed the proposed Regulation, emphasising the benefits that better debt recovery would bring to businesses trading cross-Europe. She supported the Presidency's proposals, in particular the inclusion within the minimum standards of postal service where that method was permitted in the State in which both parties resided and where the possibility of setting aside the judgment continued until enforcement commenced. The issue of whether to exclude consumer debts from the scope of the Regulation and the matter of claims which attracted state immunity protection were remitted to the working group.
	Member states indicated that they could accept the proposal that confiscation orders be enforced in the absence of dual criminality for a list of offences specified in Article 5 of the Framework Decision on the execution in the EU of Confiscation Orders. However, member states linked the enforcement of extended confiscation orders as defined in Article 2 to grounds for refusal set out in Article 7.
	The Presidency presented a progress report on the Framework Decision on the application of the principle of ne bis in idem and on negotiations with Switzerland to participate in the Schengen Aquis and asylum matters. The Commission gave a detailed summary of the latest version of the JHA Scoreboard noting in particular that some of the deadlines set at the Seville European Council were not going to be met.
	Under Any Other Business, the Presidency presented its ideas for the creation of common data protection rules for the Third Pillar.
	The Mixed Committee with Norway and Iceland met at Ministerial level in the margins of the Council. It approved conclusions endorsing the creation of the Visa Information System; conclusions on the functions of SIS and SIS II architecture; the Directive on assistance in transit for the purposes of removal by air; conclusions on the Schengen Evaluation of Spain; a report following up the Schengen evaluation of France; conclusions on increasing the efficiency of the Schengen evaluation mechanism; and the Regulation on the issuing of visas for members of the Olympic family for the 2004 Games. The Mixed Committee also took note of the Presidency's report on the implementation of programmes, ad hoc centres, pilot projects and joint operations for the effective management of the external border.

Parole

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what his policy is in respect of making representations to (a) the Prison Service and (b) the Commissioner for Correction, concerning the exercise by the Parole Board of its judgements on parole;
	(2)  on how many occasions since June 2001 he has made representations to the (a) Prisons Service and (b) Parole Board concerning the exercise of the Parole Board's judgment on parole decisions.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 9 June 2003
	Information is served on the Parole Board on behalf of the Secretary of State in every case which is referred to the Parole Board to consider an application for early release. All such information is served to the prisoner, save in special circumstances described below.
	The Secretary of State has made no undisclosed representations to the Parole Board in respect of any individual case. Such action would undermine the transparency and fairness of the parole and early release process, as well as the independence of the Parole Board, which he considers an essential contribution to public confidence in the criminal justice system.
	Under the Parole Board Rules 1997 (which apply to oral hearings of the Board) the parties to a parole hearing are the prisoner and the Secretary of State. Paragraph 5 of the Rules requires the Secretary of State to serve on the Board and on the prisoner, information relating to the prisoner, reports relating to the prisoner and such further information which he considers to be relevant to the case. This material takes the form of a dossier of reports from prison and probation staff, prison psychologists where appropriate, court and police reports at the time of the trial, and any other relevant information, including an assessment of risk which the prison may pose if released. Where the Parole Board decides that an oral hearing should take place, both parties are entitled to be represented at the hearing and to hear each other's evidence.
	The same principles apply to paper reviews by the Board, and the information which is required to be put before the Board on behalf of the Secretary of State in these cases is set out in Prison Service Order 6000, a copy of which is in the Library. All material must be disclosed to the prisoner unless for reasons set out in the Order  which include risks to the health and welfare of others  disclosure is withheld.
	From time to time my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary discusses the operation of the parole and early release system with officials. The Home Secretary has made no representations to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on the exercise by the Parole Board of its judgments on parole.

Passports

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his Answer of 11 June 2003, Official Report, column 948W, on duplicate passports, how many current passports have been issued as second passports.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 17 June 2003
	The UK Passport Service (UKPS) does not routinely collate centrally figures relating to the issue of second passports. The information could therefore be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Police Authority Attendance Allowance

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was paid in attendance allowances to members of police authorities in England and Wales in each of the last 10 municipal years; and how much he estimates will be allocated in the current municipal year.

Hazel Blears: The Police Act 1996 provided for the reimbursement of expenses and allowances by police authorities to their members from within their own budget (schedule 2, paragraph 25 and schedule 2A, paragraph 20). Payment was subject to any framework determined by the Secretary of State and approved by the Treasury. This framework was deregulated by virtue of section 107 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2002 which amended Schedule 2 of the 1996 Act to allow police authorities to develop their own local expenses and allowances schemes. The Home Office has never made direct payment to police authorities to cover the costs of allowances payable to police authority members and neither is there any power to require police authorities to provide this data to the Home Office. Accordingly, there is no central record held by the Department of the total costs borne by authorities in respect of such expenses and the cost of collecting this information from individual authorities would be prohibitive.

Prostitution

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests there have been on the grounds of prostitution in the last five years in (a) England and Wales, (b) the West Midlands and (c) Coventry.

Hazel Blears: Information on the number of persons arrested for prostitution offences is not collected centrally within England and Wales.
	Information relating to Northern Ireland is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
	Matters related to Scotland are for the Scottish Executive.

Prostitution

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what strategy is in place to reduce the number of (a) young people and (b) women at risk of (i) sexual exploitation and (ii) prostitution in England and Wales; and what studies he has made of other EU states' strategies for the reduction of prostitution and the protection of (A) young people and (B) women from such exploitation.

Beverley Hughes: The Government are taking a range of measures to address the involvement of young people and adult women involved in prostitution.
	The Sexual Offences Bill, currently before Parliament, will strengthen the legal framework for tackling the commercial sexual exploitation of adults and children and trafficking for this purpose, both within the United Kingdom and internationally. The provisions covering children will protect them up to the age of 18 and cover buying sexual services from a child, recruitment, control in prostitution or pornography, causing, inciting, arranging or facilitating child prostitution or pornography. The maximum penalties will range from seven years to life imprisonment depending on the age of the child and the activity involved.
	The offences in the Bill will help fulfil the requirements of European Union Framework Decisions on Combating Trafficking of Human Beings and the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Child Pornography, which the United Kingdom were actively involved in negotiating.
	In May 2000, the Government published Safeguarding Children Involved in Prostitution. This guidance is aimed at all agencies that come into contact with children involved in, or at risk of becoming involved in, prostitution. It sets out a multi-agency approach, based on local protocols. It is issued pursuant to the Government's child protection guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children.
	In September 2001, the Government published the National Plan for Safeguarding Children from Commercial Sexual Exploitation, in preparation for the Second World Congress on the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Yokohama, Japan in December 2001. The plan forms an important part of the Government's drive to improve safeguards for children. It focuses on those children who are induced or coerced into unlawful sexual activities for the commercial advantage of others. It explains what the Government, the devolved administrations and partner agencies are doing and are planning to do, looking at both UK-based and international sexual exploitation of children.
	In addition, the Home Office recently funded 11 prostitution initiatives as part of the What Works: Tackling Prostitution scheme, funded by the Crime Reduction Programme. These projects seek to develop and inform us of successful strategies for dealing with and managing the nuisance caused by the activities of prostitutes, the behaviour of those involved in the exploitation of others and ways of supporting those involved in prostitution who wish to exit the trade. Reports will be available later this year.
	With respect to children at risk of being drawn into prostitution or other commercial sexual exploitation, an assessment of the child's individual needs will be undertaken in accordance with the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families (2000). This assessment should be followed by consideration of how best to address the identified needs of the child and the development of a care plan.
	For individual children already in prostitution, assistance and support should be provided by local statutory services in response to identified needs, whether directly or through specialist agencies. Child victims of commercial sexual exploitation are likely to be in need of welfare services and, in many cases, protection under the Children Act 1989. Social services have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of these children following an assessment of their circumstances.
	Where there is a risk to the life of a child or a likelihood of serious harm, an agency with statutory child protection powers, such as the police or councils with social services responsibilities, should act quickly to secure the immediate safety of the child. In some cases, it may be necessary to ensure either that the child remains in, or is removed to, a safe place. Under s.20 of the Children Act 1989, a local authority may provide accommodation for any child within its area if it considers that this would safeguard or promote the child's welfare.
	The Government are extremely concerned about the Mafia-style criminality associated with the exploitation of girls and women, the links between prostitution and drug dependency, and the way in which prostitution can blight local communities. There is a great deal of work to be done to establish how best to break the links between the sex trade and organised crime, to help those who are exploited to leave prostitution, and to support local communities to develop effective neighbourhood regeneration schemes. This is a complex area. As announced in 'Protecting the Public', published in November 2002 [Cm 5668] we are examining the scope for a review of the issues surrounding prostitution and the exploitation, organised criminality and class A drug abuse associated with it.

Sickness Absence

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the honourable Member for Buckingham, of 28 April, Official Report, column 219W, on sickness absence, at what level information about long-term sickness absence in his Department is held.

Beverley Hughes: There has been no central definition of long-term sickness absence. Individual managers have responsibility for managing and monitoring all levels of sickness absence. Information about staff who are absent because of long-term illness is held by individual units but will also be passed on to pay, personnel and health and welfare services to ensure that appropriate action is taken.

Special Constables

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police forces have seen a decline in the number of special constables employed in the last five years; and how many have seen a decline greater than 20 per cent.

Hazel Blears: Figures on strength by police force area have moved to an annual cycle from March 2002 and will be available in the Library as previous publications. From March 1997 to March 2002 (latest figures available) all but one police force (Merseyside) in England and Wales have seen a decline in their numbers of special constables; and 38 have seen a decline greater than 20 per cent. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) figures (from records supplied by 37 forces) show that 569 specials left to join the regulars in the year ending 31 March 2002 and by 30 September 2002 (the latest date available) there were 131,548 police officers in England and Wales. There was also 58,909 civilian support staff in March 2002 (latest available). Both are record numbers.
	The Government are committed to reversing the decline in specials and we are working with stakeholders to increase the size and effectiveness of the special constabulary. In particular, we will be publishing 'Good Practice Guidance' on the new website, following on from the Specials champions projects, ensuring that specials' contribution is properly valued and used to best effect. The new specials website, www.specialconstables.gov.uk, was launched in February to provide specials and their managers with up-to-date information on the special constabulary and access to legislation and Home Office circulars.
	We also held the first ever National Specials Weekend in February to raise the profile of specials and give recognition to the invaluable work they do. And we have freed up regulations to allow forces to trial payment schemes funded locally. We are also looking at how we can improve the engagement of employers with the special constabulary; and whether we can increase the opportunities for recognising the skills and experience specials acquire in forces within their wider workplace.

Special Constables

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many special constables there were in each police force in England and Wales in each year since 1997.

Hazel Blears: Figures on strength by police force area have moved to an annual cycle from March 2002 and will be available in the Library, as previous publications. The number of serving special constables in each police force area from March 1997 to March 2002 (latest figures available) are set out in the table.
	
		
			  March 1997 March 1998 March 1999 March 2000 March 2001 March 2002 
		
		
			 Avon  Somerset 759 621 547 459 400 364 
			 Bedfordshire 182 186 154 151 115 118 
			 Cambridgeshire 303 320 310 274 218 207 
			 Cheshire 475 459 407 350 290 191 
			 Cleveland 160 164 126 128 93 85 
			 Cumbria 189 198 204 176 156 102 
			 Derbyshire 428 380 317 282 275 260 
			 Devon  Cornwall 1,148 1,024 918 870 796 689 
			 Dorset 289 315 305 298 267 253 
			 Durham 184 144 159 157 146 134 
			 Essex 634 638 544 483 445 381 
			 Gloucestershire 297 276 233 206 183 154 
			 Greater Manchester 685 598 523 457 367 338 
			 Hampshire 621 698 760 615 454 444 
			 Hertfordshire 297 306 238 216 198 206 
			 Humberside 340 324 269 246 212 207 
			 Kent 589 592 526 436 392 327 
			 Lancashire 483 489 449 382 360 363 
			 Leicestershire 415 406 316 247 162 143 
			 Lincolnshire 271 260 216 195 166 155 
			 City of London 86 76 64 56 43 36 
			 Merseyside 401 419 458 476 541 468 
			 Metropolitan police 1,714 1,282 1,138 758 774 680 
			 Norfolk 402 337 336 285 259 244 
			 Northamptonshire 316 288 230 199 188 177 
			 Northumbria 533 400 342 332 300 256 
			 North Yorkshire 362 358 276 217 182 185 
			 Nottinghamshire 620 558 461 411 335 341 
			 South Yorkshire 308 281 246 205 188 206 
			 Staffordshire 685 595 468 482 402 384 
			 Suffolk 379 397 420 391 349 308 
			 Surrey 297 235 224 175 149 187 
			 Sussex 472 442 393 352 306 306 
			 Thames Valley 656 609 569 472 418 356 
			 Warwickshire 381 345 261 260 221 209 
			 West Mercia 582 512 515 476 399 339 
			 West Midlands 945 889 731 680 617 598 
			 West Yorkshire 690 589 559 484 415 349 
			 Wiltshire 154 149 184 173 152 147 
			 Dyfed Powys 283 254 237 202 191 157 
			 Gwent 157 119 113 119 137 142 
			 North Wales 341 358 400 247 207 125 
			 South Wales 361 366 338 267 254 277 
			 Total all forces 19,874 18,256 16,484 14,347 12,722 11,598 
		
	
	Source:
	Figures provided by Research Development Statistics Directorate.
	We are working with stakeholders to increase the size and effectiveness of the special constabulary. In particular, we will be publishing 'Good Practice Guidance' on the new website, ensuring specials' contribution is properly valued and used to best effect. We also held the first ever National Specials Weekend in February to raise the profile of specials and the invaluable work they do. And we have freed up regulations to allow forces to trial payment schemes funded locally. We are looking at whether we can increase the opportunities for recognising the skills and experience specials acquire in forces within their wider workplace as well.

Sustainable Development

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment is made (a) of the environmental impact and (b) against sustainable development criteria of bids made for (i) grants and (ii) contracts awarded by his Department; who makes such assessments; and whether these assessments are published.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Department does not carry out environmental impact assessments or assess against sustainable development criteria when evaluating bids for grants or awarding contracts.
	However, the Department does take environmental purchasing seriously. Environmental issues are considered when awarding contracts where it is considered relevant to the contract and where it has been included in the contract specification. Such assessments are undertaken by a tender evaluation board, which where appropriate would be augmented by an environmental specialist who has the appropriate skills to perform the environmental assessment. These assessments are not published.

Tasers

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what studies he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the health implications arising from the use by police forces of tasers; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: The Defence Scientific Advisory Council (DSAC) Sub Committee on the Medical Implications of Less Lethal Weapons (DOMILL) has issued a statement on the medical implications of the use of taser. It concludes that the risk of death from high power tasers (such as the M26) is low, and certainly very much lower than that from conventional firearms. The full statement was included in the Third Report of the Research Programme into Alternative Policing Approaches towards the Management of Conflict issued by the Northern Ireland Office in December 2002.
	The statement recommended further work in three areas to clarify cardiac hazards associated with the use of taser on individuals who could be considered to have a greater risk of adverse effects. Although DOMILL did not consider this research essential, it was commissioned last autumn. The work is being carried out by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) under contract to the Police Scientific Development Branch of the Home Office.

Terrorism

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action is being taken to prevent UK citizens being encouraged and assisted to travel overseas to commit terrorist acts; and if he will make a statement

David Blunkett: The police and Security Service attach a high priority to monitoring the activities of those in the United Kingdom who are suspected of involvement in terrorism overseas. It is an offence under the Terrorism Act 2000 to incite another person to commit an act of terrorism wholly or partly outside the United Kingdom. It is also an offence under the Criminal Justice (Terrorism and Conspiracy) Act 1998 to conspire in this country to commit an act of terrorism overseas. Where there is any evidence of any offence being committed under this or any other counter-terrorist legislation, then action is taken.
	We have made clear our abhorrence of terrorism and of those who plan or commit terrorist acts.

Blackpool Tower Project

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total costs of the Blackpool Tower project were in the first three months of this year.

Hazel Blears: On the basis of information provided by the Lancashire Constabulary, total costs of the Blackpool area Basic Command Unit Tower project for the first three months of this year include multi-agency funding of 99,333.25, of which the Home Office Police Standards Unit contributed 19,241.00.

Blackpool Tower Project

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the Tower project in Blackpool and Burnley.

Hazel Blears: The Blackpool Tower scheme is a multi-agency project targeting persistent offenders. Its aims are to reduce crime combining police disruption and targeting tactics with the provision of drug treatment.
	Huddersfield University conducted an evaluation of the project, the final report of which is due shortly. Ministers will consider this evaluation and how its content should be shared.

CABINET OFFICE

Asbestos

Vincent Cable: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what actions the Cabinet Office, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are taking to comply with the requirements of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002; whether he has made an estimate of the cost of compliance; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The Cabinet Office has undertaken Asbestos surveys for the London and Basingstoke Estate, the GCDA's buildings, HMSO Norwich, the Emergency Planning College and the Centre for Management and Policy Studies Residential Training Centre at Sunningdale.
	The following action and costs were identified:
	London Estatesome asbestos has been identified. The advice of our specialist contractors is that there is no risk and no need to take any actions unless areas are disturbed due to building works. Costs of required measures will be identified and incorporated into any project costs at the time of the works.
	Basingstoke Estatethe control of Asbestos is the responsibility of the building's Landlord. Some low risk asbestos was found and removed. No costs are anticipated.
	GCDAthe survey concluded that there was no asbestos on the site, or in any consumable/vehicle workshop products. The results of the survey are being reviewed but no costs are anticipated.
	HMSO Norwichthe control of Asbestos is the responsibility of the Landlord of the premises. No risk has been identified and no costs are anticipated
	Emergency Planning Collegethe survey identified some risk 1 asbestos, which has now all been removed. All other traces of asbestos which were recommended for removal or treatment will be dealt with by September 2003. In addition some asbestos has been identified in buildings due for demolition as part of the College's major accommodation upgrade and will be dealt with as part of the demolition process in September 2004. The cost of all these works will be some 48,000.
	Centre for Management and Policy Studies Residential Training Centre at Sunningdalesome asbestos has been detected and is registered. The PPP partner within the site development works is handling its removal, under appropriate guidance and control. The risk is borne by them at no further cost to the College.

Correspondence

Chris Grayling: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when the Paymaster General will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell of 29 April on behalf of Mrs. P. Cooper of Ewell, forwarded to his Department by the Treasury on 6 June.

Douglas Alexander: A reply was sent to the hon. Member today.

MINISTER FOR WOMEN

Disabled Women

Patsy Calton: To ask the Minister for Women what recent consultations she has had with the Minister for Disability about access to work for disabled women.

Patricia Hewitt: My hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Mrs. Roche), the former Deputy Minister for Women and I have regularly met with our Department of Work and Pensions ministerial colleagues on a range of employment questions, including in relation to gender and disability.
	Most recently, I attended a breakfast meeting at 11 Downing Street with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, to discuss with senior business leaders increasing employment opportunities for disabled people.

Temporary Agency Workers

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister for Women what the implications will be for (a) women employed as temporary agency workers in Government Departments and (b) for the Government as their employees of the European Agency Workers Directive.

Patricia Hewitt: The Directive is currently under discussion at the European level, and until a final version is agreed, its implications will remain unclear. There is a risk that additional costs arising as a result of the Directive may reduce employment opportunities for temporary agency workers, including for women in the public sector. The Government are working to ensure that the Directive protects temporary agency workers without putting their jobs at risk.
	We believe that the impact of the Directive, as it is currently drafted, on the hourly pay of female temporary agency workers in the public sector would be insignificant and will not have any significant impact on public sector costs.
	An assessment of the overall impact of the Directive as drafted is detailed in the regulatory impact assessment, of which the House Library has a copy.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Adults with Incapacity

David Cameron: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans she has to introduce a Bill on adults with incapacity.

David Lammy: My Department is currently preparing a Draft Mental Incapacity Bill for publication, based on our Policy Statement, 'Making Decisions'. We will introduce legislation when parliamentary time allows.

Immigration Adjudicators

Keith Vaz: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many adjudicators are in post; and how many are (a) full-time and (b) part-time.

David Lammy: As at 13 June 2003, there were 587 adjudicators in post with the Immigration Appellate Authority. These include the Chief Adjudicator, the Deputy Chief Adjudicator, nine Regional Adjudicators and six Deputy Regional Adjudicators. In total, there are 168 permanent adjudicators and 419 fee paid adjudicators.

Immigration Appeal Tribunal

Keith Vaz: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans the Lord Chancellor has to abolish the Immigration Appeal Tribunal.

David Lammy: On 22 May 2003, the Government announced their intention to draw up further legislative proposals to build on the measures in the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002. One such proposal involves the creation of a single tier of appeal. The policy is currently being developed in greater detail and an announcement will be made in due course.

Legal Aid

Frank Field: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many users of legal aid have over the past five years had bills settled (a) in excess of 1 million, (b) between 500,000 and 1 million, (c) between 250,000 and 500,000, (d) between 100,000 and 250,000, (e) between 50,000 and 100,000 and (f) under 50,000.

David Lammy: The information needed to answer the question is not readily available, and the answer could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

HEALTH

Additives

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to ensure food products contain (a) the name and (b) the number of additives in the list of ingredients.

Melanie Johnson: European rules implemented here by the Food Labelling Regulations 1996 already require additives to be identified in the list of ingredients by their function, for example, 'preservative', 'colour' and either their specific name or serial number except where specific exemptions apply. There are no plans to require the name and the serial number to be given, although there is nothing to prevent this from being done voluntarily.

Alcohol Dependency

Patsy Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are in place to provide a multi-agency approach to treatment for those with alcohol dependency who also have mental health and other drug problems.

Melanie Johnson: The Department of Health issued guidance last year on the management and delivery of effective treatment for adults with severe mental illness and co-existing drug or alcohol misuse problems. The guidance highlights the responsibilities of drug action teams and local implementation teams to work together locally in order to implement the guidance in accordance with local needs.
	The National Treatment Agency for substance misuse has also issued guidance in the last year for commissioners, 'Models of Care'. The framework of this guidance applies to alcohol and drug treatment services and strongly supports the development of multi-agency approaches to treatment based on comprehensive assessment of needs, including for those with dual diagnoses. In addition, the National Institute for Mental Health in England is also working to identify how access to effective treatment can be improved and waiting times reduced. Many of the services affected by this work are joint drug and alcohol services.
	The Department of Health is preparing a new strategy on alcohol harm reduction which will set out a coherent and practical framework for a responsible approach which reinforces the message about sensible drinking and seeks to tackle alcohol misuse in all its forms. The NHS Plan said that we will be implementing the strategy by 2004, and we are on course to achieve that target. The Cabinet Office strategy unit is to undertake a project on alcohol misuse. Conclusions from the project will form the basis of the Government's alcohol strategy.

Cancelled Operations

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many routine operations were cancelled by each hospital trust in the week of star rating assessments at the end of March.

John Hutton: holding answer 3 June 2003
	Data are collected quarterly on the number of operations cancelled by the hospital for non-clinical reasons in two categories. There are operations cancelled at the last minute, that is on the day patients are due to arrive or after arrival in hospital or on the day of their operation, and (in 200203 only) operations cancelled on the day of surgery.
	Cancelled operations data at England level and by national health service trust and strategic health authority level are available in the Library and on the Department's website at: www.doh.gov.uk/hospitalactivity/data requests.htm. Data for the quarter corresponding to March 2003 are not yet available.

Cancelled Operations

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS operations were cancelled in (a) March and (b) February 2003.

John Hutton: holding answer 3 June 2003
	Data are collected quarterly on the number of operations cancelled by the hospital for non-clinical reasons in two categories. There are operations cancelled at the last minute, that is on the day patients are due to arrive or after arrival in hospital or on the day of their operation, and (in 200203 only) operations cancelled on the day of surgery.
	Cancelled operations data at England level and by national health service trust and strategic health authority level are available in the Library and on the Department's website at: www.doh.gov.uk/hospitalactivity/data requests.htm
	Data for the quarter corresponding to February and March 2003 are not yet available.

Cardiac Services

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are being taken to assist NHS trusts and PCTs in making available latest innovations in the diagnosis and treatment of sudden cardiac death.

Melanie Johnson: The Department's National Screening Committee will be reconsidering whether, in the light of recent research, to recommend screening for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (the most common condition causing sudden adult death syndrome) later this year.

Chemical Attacks (Preparations)

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on conclusions drawn by NHS trusts from exercises in response to a chemical, biological or radiological incident since 11 September 2001.

John Hutton: All national health service trusts have major incident plans in place and there are regular exercises to test these plans. Chemical, biological radiological and nuclear (CBRN) incidents are now considered at every planning meeting between Health Emergency Planning Advisers (HEPAs) and NHS trusts and are a significant focus of all NHS emergency planning development.
	The emergency response division of the HPA has introduced a system to record centrally all exercises undertaken in the NHS and will be disseminating lessons learned. NHS trusts have, since 11 September 2001, been provided with greater amounts of improved personal protective equipment (PPE) and decontamination equipment. Training for dealing with CBRN incidents is also being urgently rolled out. NHS trusts have been working with local HEPAs to assess their capability to respond to CBRN incidents and lessons learned from these assessments are being implemented.
	The HPA is also working with NHS trusts to improve emergency preparedness, particularly through a much expanded programme of exercises. Training needs are being identified and targeted training is being delivered. Consideration is also being given to staff turnover and the need for a programme of continuous training to be offered. Work being taken forward under the New Dimensions Project will also engage NHS trusts in a more integrated emergency response to CBRN threats together with other partner agencies.

Chemicals

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the impact on human health of (a) wood preservative and varnishing products, (b) alkylphenols, (c) brominated flame retardants, (d) organotin compounds, (e) phthalate esters, (f) short-chain chlorinated paraffins and (g) phthalates DEHP and DBP in products; what advice has been given to the public relating to their use; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: Wood preservatives and the use of organotin compounds in antifouling products are controlled under the Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986 (as amended). The independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP) most recently considered the wood preservative substance IPBC, and is awaiting responses from the industry before recommending any necessary regulatory action on the 101 products containing this substance. The most recent review of a wood preservative before that was copper/chrome/arsenic in November 2000, and the ACP recommended that approvals for the 32 products containing this could continue, subject to certain conditions. The organotin compounds, tributyltin oxide and tributyltin naphthenate, have previously been considered by the ACP. Information on assessments by the ACP are published on the following website: http://www.pesticides.gov.uk/committees/acp/acp.htm
	Advice on the safe use of pesticide products is given on product labels.
	The majority of the other substances or groups of substances have been the subject of comprehensive risk assessment under the European Union Existing Substances Regulation (ESR). This has included nonylphenol (an alkylphenol), several brominated fire retardants, short-chain chlorinated paraffins and a number of phthalate esters, including DEHP and DBP.
	For some, the United Kingdom competent authority, the Health and Safety Executive and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, acting jointly, have produced the risk assessment on behalf of all EU member states. Assessments that have been agreed by member states are publicly available on the website of the European Chemicals Bureau at: http://ecb.jrc.it/existinq-chemicals/
	No advice has been given by the Department to the public relating to the use of these compounds.

Chemicals

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact on human health of (a) paints containing a high amount of volatile solvents and (b) adhesives and sealants marketed for use in the home; what advice has been given to the public relating to their use; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: The Department's Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) considered the health effects of exposures to volatile organic compounds in the home in 1997. This applied to volatile organic compounds from a variety of sources. COMEAP's conclusions are published on its website at: www.doh.gov.uk/comeap/pdfs/comeap9798.pdf
	The Government commissioned the Medical Research Council Institute for Environment and Health to produce a leaflet to assist environmental health officers in giving advice to members of the public. This leaflet is available at: www.le.ac.uk/ieh/pdf/vocslflt.pdf

Food Standards

Eric Martlew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which companies were found by the Food Standards Agency to be selling salami containing horse and donkey meat, which was not identified on the label.

Melanie Johnson: The pilot survey, which was funded by the Food Standards Agency and carried out by five trading standards departments, found that three products contained undeclared horse meat. Two products, a peppered salami and Cervalat salami, were of the brand L'Artibon and these were purchased from Safeway in Durham. The third sample was labelled as a wild boar salami, manufactured by Bernadi Gastone of Pisa, Italy and sold by Alvini North, a wholesaler in Leeds.

Food Standards

Eric Martlew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to prosecute retailers that are selling salami that contains horse and donkey meat where the meat is not identified on the label.

Melanie Johnson: Local authorities are responsible for enforcement of food law. The three samples of salamis found positive for horse DNA in the pilot survey funded by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) were the subject of further investigation by two local authorities. Formal samples of a different batch of product were taken at a later date, but were subsequently found to be negative for horse DNA and no further action is possible on these samples. The FSA is carrying out a larger, nation wide survey on salami and salami-type products to determine the extent of this problem. If further unidentified horse meat is detected, local authorities will be encouraged to take formal action.

Food Supplements

Tony Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what methodology was used in setting the upper limit for intake of vitamin B6 supplements at 10 mg.

Melanie Johnson: Details on the methodology used are contained in the Expert Group on Vitamins and Minerals' (EVM) report, a copy of which is available in the Library. The EVM reviewed over 200 pieces of information on vitamin B6 from both animal and human studies. The available human data were considered inadequate for use in risk assessment. The EVM concluded that, based on the most appropriate animal data, 10 mg per day represents a clear safe upper level, with no adverse effects being anticipated over a lifetime's exposure. This reinforces existing Government advice, which has not changed.

Food Supplements

Tony Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consultation took place between Food Standards Agency scientists and (a) the Institute for Optimum Nutrition and (b) other bodies with specialist knowledge of vitamin supplements on the decision to reduce the limit for intake of B6 supplements to 10 mg.

Melanie Johnson: The Institute for Optimum Nutrition and other bodies had the opportunity to provide views and evidence on vitamin B6 and other vitamins and minerals during the Expert Group on Vitamins and Minerals' (EVM) deliberations. The draft EVM report was issued for a 12-week public consultation. Over 100 replies to the consultation were received, including a detailed response from the Institute for Optimum Nutrition, which were considered by the EVM in finalising its report.

Hospital Treatment Records

Jon Owen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients who are Welsh residents have been treated in English hospitals in each of the last five years for which records are available; and if he will list (a) the top 10 procedures carried out on such patients and (b) the numbers of each procedure carried out.

John Hutton: holding answer 9 June 2003
	The data are shown in the tables.
	The figures given for Finished In-Year Admissions should be used to replace those that I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Bridgend (Win Griffiths) on 3 June 2003, Official Report, column 20, which contained a definitional error and did not take account of improved methodology in compiling the data. I have written to my hon. Friend to apologise for the inadvertent error.
	
		Finished in-year admissions
		
			  Number of admissions 
		
		
			 199798 38,806 
			 199899 39,490 
			 19992000 40,694 
			 200001 41,221 
			 200102 40,983 
		
	
	Note:
	A finished in-year admission is that first episode of care in one health care provider, starting in the April to March period indicated.
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health
	
		Most common operation procedures for Welsh residents by year from 199798 to 200102
		
			 Operation code Operation description 199798 199899 19992000 200001 200102 
		
		
			 K45 Transluminal Balloon Angioplasty of Coronary Artery 260 
			 G45 Total Prosthetic Replacement of Hip Joint Using Cement 240 257 249 347 375 
			 H22 Surgical Removal of Tooth 284 325 286 317  
			 C79 Prosthesis of Lens 522 503 487 768 649 
			 H25 Operations on Vitreous Body 293 323 259   
			 X29 Extracapsular Extraction of Lens 267 
			 W37 Diagnostic Fibreoptic Endoscopic Exam/Upper Gastrointestine 858 852 977 976 655 
			 M45 Diagnostic Endoscopic Examination of Colon 279 258 284 273  
			 C75 Diagnostic Endoscopic Examination of Bladder 612 563 591 663 662 
			 C71 Diag.Endo. Exam/Lower Bowel Using Fibreoptic Sigmoidoscopy 255 372 433 499 383 
			 K49 Contrast Radiology of Heart 853 1,023 1,282 1,517 1,517 
			 F09 Continuous Infusion of Therapeutic Substance 444 746 834 851 1,063 
			 K63 Connection of Thoracic Artery to Coronary Artery285 289 
			 Totals per year  4,640 5,222 5,682 6,496 6,120 
		
	
	Note:
	Where figures are not shown for a procedure, this procedure did not rank in the top ten for that year
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when the sixth edition of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's Code of Practice will be implemented;
	(2)  how many responses have been received by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority on their current code of practice.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 17 June 2003
	Consultation on the sixth edition of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) code of practice will close on 8 August 2003. The HFEA hopes to publish the new edition for implementation by clinics in the autumn.
	The current code of practice was published in June 2001. The HFEA consulted stakeholders in clinics and professional bodies on the content of the code prior to publication.

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients have been (a) interviewed and (b) visited by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority in each of the last four years.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 17 June 2003
	The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority does not collect statistics on the number of patients it interviews.

Mental Health (Cornwall)

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money has been spent on mental health services in Cornwall in each of the last 10 years.

Melanie Johnson: Data on mental illness expenditure for primary care is not available. The table shows expenditure by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly health authority area for secondary care mental health services commissioned from 199697 to 200102. Information on health authority expenditure before 199697 was not collected in the same format.
	
		Expenditure on mental illness -- 000
		
			  Cornwall and Isles of Scilly area 
		
		
			 200102 39,569 
			 200001 33,966 
			 19992000 26,647 
			 199899 27,260 
			 199798 24,519 
			 199697 25,894

Primary Care Trusts

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cumulative net surplus or deficit from target was for each primary care trust in (a) 200304, (b) 200405 and (c) 200506.

John Hutton: Primary care trusts do not have a target related to a cumulative net surplus or deficit.

Private Finance Initiative

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the use by NHS trusts of new funding approaches for the development of premises under public-private partnerships outside present PFI arrangements.

John Hutton: The Private Finance Initiative continues to help deliver the biggest hospital building programme in the history of the national health service.
	We will continue to keep other methods and models of funding for capital investment under review.

Pay Costs

Archie Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 7 March 2003, Official Report, columns 127374W, on staff numbers, what the total pay costs incurred by the (a) Medical Devices Agency, (b) Meat Hygiene Service and (c) Medicines Control Agency were in each year since 1997.

John Hutton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Total pay costs incurred from 199697 to 200203 -- 000
		
			 Agency 199697 199798 199899 19992000 200001 200102 200203 
		
		
			 Medical devices agency (MDA) 4,224 4,394 4,610 4,688 4,752 5,086 (7)5,482 
			 Meat hygiene service (MHS) 28,932 33,909 39,583 39,603 38,525 42,108 (8)44,765 
			 Medicines control agency (MCA) 12,512 14,700 16,714 17,885 18,299 20,094 (9)21,856 
		
	
	(7) Data from management accounts.
	(8) Subject to audit by the National Audit Office.
	(9) An estimate based on the unaudited management accounts and thus subject to change.

Post-cardiac Rehabilitation

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provision is made in national service frameworks for post-cardiac rehabilitation.

Melanie Johnson: Provision for cardiac rehabilitation is addressed in standard 12 of the national service framework for coronary heart disease. This states that,
	NHS Trusts should put in place agreed protocols/systems of care so that, prior to leaving hospital, people admitted to hospital suffering from coronary heart disease have been invited to participate in a multidisciplinary programme of secondary prevention and cardiac rehabilitation. The aim of the programme will be to reduce their risk of subsequent cardiac problems and to promote their return to a full and normal life.

LORD CHANCELLOR

Transsexuals

Ben Chapman: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans the Lord Chancellor has to bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that transsexuals are accorded the same level of rights whether or not the end of the gender realignment process is clear.

Rosie Winterton: The Government are committed to legislating as soon as possible to give transsexual people their Convention rights. We aim to publish a draft Bill later this Session with substantive legislation following when parliamentary time allows. The draft Bill will give legal recognition in their acquired gender to transsexual people who can demonstrate that they have taken decisive steps towards living fully and permanently in the gender acquired since they were registered at birth.
	Changing legal identity is a serious step, with significant consequences. It is important that no one should embark upon formal recognition in the acquired gender without convincing evidence. We will therefore propose that applications should be scrutinised by an authorising body, given legal powers to assess medical evidence before the transsexual person is allowed to register in the new gender. In some cases, where the person undertook gender reassignment years earlier, and has lived successfully in the acquired gender, that assessment may be straightforward. In other cases, the authorising body will need to be assured that, in addition to meeting medical criteria, the transsexual person has lived successfully in the acquired gender for at least two years. The medical criteria may include medical treatments to modify the person's sexual characteristics, but the Government will not require surgery as a condition of registration in the acquired gender.

World Summit on Sustainable Development

John Horam: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department which United Kingdom commitments arising from the World Summit on Sustainable Development (a) have been incorporated into the Department's existing delivery plan for Service Delivery Agreements and (b) will be incorporated in its delivery plan for Service Delivery Agreements in advance of the 2004 Spending Review.

Christopher Leslie: The current delivery plans for my Department do not incorporate specific commitments from the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). The Department is not one of the Government Departments identified as having direct responsibility for delivery of the commitments as set out in the interdepartmentally-agreed Annex to the Memorandum submitted to the Environmental Audit Committee in response to their enquiry on WSSD follow-up.
	Nevertheless, my Department will work to support Government policy on sustainability wherever the opportunity arises.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animal By-products

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  when her Department plans to start its proposed subscription scheme to deal with carcases that can no longer be buried on farm land as a result of the implementation of the EU Animal By-products Regulation;
	(2)  what plans her Department has for the disposal of fallen stock in the time between the ban on burial of carcases on farms and the beginning of the subscription scheme;
	(3)  what the cost will be to the average farmer in (a) England and (b) each region of the new arrangements for the disposal of carcases following the implementation of the EU Animal By-products Regulation; and whether the Government will be making financial assistance available;
	(4)  what alternatives to the subscription scheme her Department is offering to farmers to help them dispose of animal carcases following the introduction of the EU Animal By-products Regulation.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 17 June 2003
	There was a low response rate of 30 per cent. from livestock farmers to the letter inviting interest in a national scheme. In the light of this disappointing response, the Government are now considering whether the scheme should go ahead, and if so, in what form.
	A national scheme was proposed in order to reduce the cost of collecting and disposal of fallen stock and to encourage compliance with the Regulation. However, an infrastructure of knackers' yards and renderers is already in place, and we would expect farmers to have been complying with the new rules from 1 May 2003. There is a help line in place for farmers to use if they do not know what disposal services exist in their area. The help line number is: 0845 8507070.
	In the absence of a scheme, costs to the farmer of disposal of fallen stock would depend on the type and number of animals on the farm and its location. Under the proposed scheme, small farms would pay 50, medium farms 100 and large farms 200 in the first year. Additional costs of the scheme would be subsidised by Government on a digressive basis over three years.
	Additional information on the disposal of animal carcases is available on the Defra website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/by-prods/default.htm and from local Defra Animal Health Offices.

Animal By-products

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures her Department is putting in place to ensure that under the subscription scheme to collect carcases from farms (a) carcass collection will take place promptly to avoid vermin infestation and the smell of rotting carcasses and (b) vehicles coming on to farmland to pick up carcasses do not spread disease from different areas.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 17 June 2003
	No decision has yet been made on whether to proceed with the proposed subscription scheme.
	Although no specific time has been specified, we would envisage that fallen stock will, once an approved collector has been notified, normally be collected within 24 hours and not more than 48 hours.
	This would be consistent with existing contractual arrangements where collectors are expected to carry out the collection of fallen bovines and ovines within 24 hours for TSE testing purposes.
	The Animal By-Products Regulation requires animal by-products to be consigned or disposed of without undue delay, which in essence means as soon as is reasonably practicable, taking into account the circumstances of the case.
	Any person in possession of animal by-products, such as fallen stock, who do not comply with the Regulation may face prosecution. Prosecutions may result in a fine of up to 5,000 and six months' imprisonment for cases heard in a magistrates court or an unlimited fine and up to two years imprisonment for cases heard in the Crown Court.

Asbestos

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the actions her Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are taking to comply with the requirements of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002; whether she has made an estimate of the cost of compliance; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: Defra already has asbestos registers for each of its buildings, including those of its executive agencies. To comply with the new regulations Defra and its agencies have commissioned additional surveys of these properties. Specialist consultants are currently surveying buildings to try to identify any hidden asbestos. They will then prepare plans advising whether we should remove it or manage it. The programme of surveys and production of management plans will be completed by March 2004.
	The estimated cost of surveying properties and preparing management plans is 250,000. It is too early to produce an estimate for any removal or retention as we currently await the completion of our survey programme.
	Defra's non-departmental public bodies manage their own estates of buildings and land, and will therefore be responsible for complying with the new regulations.

Batteries

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) car batteries and (b) alkaline batteries were (i) purchased and used, (ii) disposed of by (A) landfill, (B) incineration and (C) other means, (iii) recycled and (iv) reused in the last year for which figures are available.

Elliot Morley: These figures are not collected centrally. However, part of a Government study (2000) carried out an assessment to forecast the consumption of batteries within the UK. For 2002, it was estimated that 12,986 tonnes of alkaline batteries and 111,016 tonnes of car batteries would be sold. The current recycling rate is estimated to be less than 2 per cent. for the alkaline batteries and 90 to 95 per cent. for car batteries in the UK.
	A proposal for a new EC Batteries Directive is expected this year, which will set targets for the collection and recycling of all types of batteries. It is likely to require member states to set up systems to monitor the quantities of all batteries recycled.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Eric Martlew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cases of bovine TB there have been in Cumbria in each of the last five years.

Elliot Morley: Pursuant to my answer of 4 June 2003, Official Report, column 406W, the table shows the number of new bovine TB herd incidents and confirmed new bovine TB incidents in Cumbria 19982002. A TB incident is confirmed if typical lesions are found at post mortem, or if Mycobacterium bovis (the causative organism for bovine tuberculosis) is isolated from tissue samples in laboratory examination.
	
		Bovine TB in Cumbria, 19982002
		
			  New herd incidents New confirmed herd incidents 
		
		
			 1998 8 0 
			 1999 9 1 
			 2000 4 1 
			 2001 2 0 
			 2002 33 6 
		
	
	Note:
	In 2001, the TB testing and control programme was largely suspended due to the foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak. Since testing resumed in 2002, resources have been concentrated on herds with overdue TB tests which would have had a longer period in which to contract the disease. Also, the proportion of high-risk herds being tested post-FMD is greater than that prior to the outbreak. This includes herds restocked post-FMD where additional testing is being carried out to manage the increased risk posed by the movement of infected cattle into re-formed herds. As a result, the number of new herd incidents in 2002 is not comparable to that of previous years.

Cement Kilns

Bill O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many tonnes of waste were used in cement kilns in the years 1998 to 2002; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The amount in tonnes of waste burnt in cement kilns in England and Wales is contained in the following table as reported to the Environment Agency for the years 1998 to 2002.
	
		
			 Operator (Works) Fuel(10) 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 Lafarge (Hope) Tyres 0 0 0 0 2,880 
			 Lafarge (Cauldon) Tyres 17,382 13,695 23,859 27,869 23,751 
			 Lafarge (Westbury) Tyres 0 3,635 0 1,333 8,545 
			 Castle (Ketton) SLF 26,645 34,038 30,782 26,476 31,834  
			  Tyres 372 1,932 2,838 1,472 2,305 
			  Solid Waste 0 329 551 0 7,890 
			 Castle (Ribblesdale) SLF 41,812 40,113 15,829 34,189 47,184 
			 Rugby (Barrington) SLF 19,932 24,647 21,531 22,837 19,327 
			 Rugby (Southam) SLF 10,792 9,148 1,554 Closed Closed 
			 Blue Circle (Blakenham) SLF 2,721 216 Closed Closed Closed 
		
	
	(10) SLF ('Substitute Liquid Fuel') includes both Cemfuel(r) and Dycal(r). Solid Waste is exclusively Profuel(r) manufactured from paper, cardboard and packaging type wastes.

PVC

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent research has been conducted into the impact on the environment of the production and disposal of PVC-u; and what chemicals may be released (a) upon disposal and (b) during production.

Elliot Morley: A number of studies into the impact of PVC-u on the environment have been carried out including:
	The Behaviour of PVC in Landfill, for the European Commission DGXI (2000);
	PVC: An Evaluation Using the Natural Step Framework, The Natural Step (2000); and
	The Life Cycle Assessment of PVC and Alternatives, for the ex- Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions (2000).
	The European Commission is currently conducting a rigorous assessment of all published PVC life-cycle studies to ensure the availability of sound data on which to develop future policy in this area. This is expected to be published by the end of 2003 and will include information on the impacts of production and disposal.
	(a) DisposalPVC is generally disposed of either to landfill or to incineration. In both cases there is no specific separation of PVC from other waste streams such as municipal waste.
	Incineration of PVC has the potential to produce a number of chemicals such as hydrogen chloride, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and small quantities of dioxins and furans. Incineration of waste is regulated under Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC), and tight limits are imposed on releases from incinerators to ensure the protection of health and the environment.
	The PVC polymer is generally considered to be stable under landfill conditions, but there is a potential for losses of plasticisers and stabilisers from flexible PVC to occur. The behaviour of PVC in landfill is a complex subject and further information may be obtained from the above European Commission report at:
	http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/waste/studies/pvc/landfill.pdf
	The Landfill Directive 1999/31/EC requires that landfills comply with a number of technical standards regarding the protection of soil and water, including leachate collection, bottom sealing and gas emission control.
	(b) Productionduring production of the vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) there is the potential for emissions of VCM, chlorine, ethylene, ethylene dichloride, HCI and other chlorinated by-products to occur. Due to this pollution potential, production has been regulated for many years under Integrated Pollution Control (IPC) and will be regulated under IPPC. During compounding and transformation of PVC, there is the potential for release of the anti-oxidants, plasticisers and pigments used, but closed processes mean that any release would be small.

PVC

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the weight of consumer goods known to contain PVC (a) disposed of by (i) landfill, (ii) incineration and (iii) other means, (b) recycled and (c) reused, in the last year for which figures are available.

Elliot Morley: Information on waste arisings held by the Environment Agency are based on the Agency's special waste database, which comprises records of each load of special waste moved, and on the commercial and industrial waste survey.
	PVC is not classified as a special waste and so does not appear on the special waste database. The commercial and industrial waste survey is a sample survey of approximately 18,000 businesses, but it does not include the level of detail to establish the weight of PVC in waste consumer goods or the proportion disposed by different routes. The Government's Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) will shortly be funding a comprehensive research project into options for PVC recycling in the UK. The research will identify the relevant sources of waste, assess reprocessing options and investigate potential end markets for the reprocessed materials.

Chemicals (Environmental Impact)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the environmental impact of 
	(1)  (a) alkylphenols, (b) brominated flame retardants, (c) organotin compounds, (d) phthalate esters, (e) short-chain chlorinated paraffins and (f) phthalates DEHP and DBP in products; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  textile and leather finishing treatments; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: The Existing Substances Regulation (ESR) (793/93/EEC) is the main mechanism through which assessments have been carried out on the environmental impact of existing chemicals. As part of the UK's responsibility as a member state of the European Union, the Government have published the risk assessments and risk reduction strategies for certain alkylphenols, brominated flame retardants and short chain chlorinated paraffins. The Environment Agency undertook a general review of alkylphenols last year and the final reports are due June 2003. The UK is currently working jointly with the French Competent Authority in producing a risk reduction strategy for decabromodiphenylethera brominated flame retardant.
	Organotin compounds: The Department has commissioned a number of pieces of research to determine the extent to which use of tributyltin (TBT) as an antifoulant in maritime paints has contaminated the environment and caused effects in biological communities, such as the effect known as imposex in dogwhelks. These include surveys of TBT and imposex on the North Sea (1992 and 1998) and Irish Sea (1998) coasts and the study of the recovery of the benthic communities of the River Crouch in Essex following the 1987 ban on the use of TBT on small craft. Following further amendments to marketing and use restrictions on the use of TBT as a biocide in antifouling paints under Council Directive 2002/62/EC the Department is in the process of commissioning a further survey of effects and concentrations of TBT in UK waters.
	There has been no assessment of phthalate esters as group of substances, but DEHP and DBP are part of this group.
	DEHP (diethylhexylphthalate) is being assessed under the Existing Substances Regulation by the Swedish competent authority. A draft risk reduction strategy has been produced.
	DBP (dibutylphthalate) is also being assessed under ESR by the Dutch Competent Authority. A risk assessment was produced in July 2001.
	Risk Assessments are published on the European Chemicals Bureau website http://ecb.jrc.it/existing-chemicals/
	(2) There has been no systematic assessment of the environmental impact of textile and leather finishing treatments. Risk Assessments have been carried on a range of substances used in finishing treatments for leather and textiles such as detergents, azo dyes, alkylphenols, brominated flame-retardants and chlorinated paraffins under the work of the Existing Substances Regulations (793/93/EEC). Textile coating and leather finishing processes using more than 5 tonnes of solvent a year have been regulated domestically under the Environmental Protection Act since 1992, and are now subject to the provisions of the European Solvent Emissions Directive (1999/13/EC).

Clinical Waste

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much clinical waste she estimates was disposed of by (a) landfill, (b) incineration and (c) other means in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by types of clinical waste.

Elliot Morley: The commercial and industrial waste survey carried out by the Environment Agency for 199899 estimated that, in England and Wales, health care establishments produced almost 750,000 tonnes of different wastes associated with their activities, although only part of this could be considered clinical waste. In 2001, the most recent year for which data are available, the Environment Agency special waste database reports some 5,500 tonnes of clinical waste consigned as special waste. Details of how these wastes were managed are given in the table.
	
		Thousand tonnes
		
			 Type of disposal Waste from health care Special clinical waste 
		
		
			 Landfill 17 0.2 
			 Incineration 234 3.2 
			 Other 490 2.1 
			 Total 741 5.5

Departmental Property (Angel Group)

Peter Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the properties acquired by the Angel Group and its subsidiaries from the Department and its agencies and the (a) dates and (b) costs of their acquisition.

Alun Michael: Neither the Department nor any of its Executive Agencies have sold property to the Angel Group or its subsidiaries.

Departmental Website

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what actions she has taken or is taking to ensure that the websites of her Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are accessible to partially sighted and blind people; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: It is our policy, and that of our agencies, that new or redesigned websites should be accessible in line with the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Initiative's guidelines, as detailed in the Guidelines for UK Government websites. These include specific provision for blind and partially-sighted users. In implementing Defra's new corporate identity on our web site, we have incorporated a number of improvements into the design specifically to increase the ease of use of the site by people who are visually or physically impaired.

Farming Subsidies

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations her Department has received about plans to use the period 200003 as the reference point for subsidy payments to farmers; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: There has been general support from consultees for the proposed 200002 single payment scheme reference period, including the special provisions for farmers affected by force majeure or exceptional circumstances. However, there have been a number of representations seeking additional flexibility to ensure farmers are not disadvantaged by, for example, changing the nature of their business or acquiring land during or after the reference period. In the on-going CAP reform negotiations, we continue to explore with the European Commission and others the best means to protect the interests of such farmers.

Flood Defence

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 7 May 2003, Official Report, column 714W, if she will publish details of the representations.

Elliot Morley: A report on the outcome of consultations on the Flood and Coastal Defence Funding Review was placed on the Defra website in October 2002. In accordance with normal practice, copies of the individual responses to consultation have been placed in the Defra library for public inspection.

Flood Risk Insurance

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  when Ministers or officials in her Department have met representatives from the Association of British Insurers since January 2002 to discuss Flood Risk Insurance; and what the outcome was in each case;
	(2)  what discussions Ministers or officials in her Department have held with representatives from the Association of British Insurers since January to discuss the agreement between the Government and the ABI on flood risk insurance which concluded at the end of December 2002.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 17 June 2003
	Defra and HM Treasury Ministers and officials met regularly with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) throughout 2002 to ensure continuance of flood cover for as many people as possible. The outcome of these discussions was a Statement of Principles announced by the ABI in September 2002.
	Since January 2003, Defra and Treasury Ministers met the ABI on 20 May. Officials from both Government and ABI continue to meet regularly to discuss progress against the statement of principles.

Genetically Modified Organisms

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects to implement the recommendations of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee's Fifth Report of Session 200102, on Genetically Modified Organisms.

Elliot Morley: The Government response published on 24 October 2002 agreed with all of the conclusions and recommendations in the Committee's report. This centred on the then proposed GM public debate, now underway, and eventual decisions on the commercial cultivation of GM crops. We have implemented, or are implementing, all the recommendations relevant to Government.

Genetically Modified Organisms

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the precautionary principle, set out in the EU Directive 2001/18/EC and in the Environmental Protection Act 1990, has been adhered to in the farm scale evaluation programme; and if it is her policy that it will be adhered to in the Government's forthcoming decisions relating to GM crops.

Elliot Morley: The Government is firmly committed to taking a precautionary approach to decision making on GMO releases, this had always been the case under directive 90/220/EEC and is now explicitly recognised in directive 2001/18/EC and the national legislation that transposes it. Each proposed GMO release is subject to an evidence-based, case-by-case assessment of the potential risks to human health or the environment and approved only if the applicant can satisfy the regulatory authorities that all appropriate measures are being taken to avoid adverse effects.
	The farm scale evaluations are an example of the Government's precautionary approach working in practice. In 1998, a genuine concern was raised about the potential impact on farmland wildlife of the herbicide use associated with GM herbicide-tolerant crops. We established the programme to investigate these concerns, and secured the agreement of the biotechnology industry that no GM crops would be grown commercially in the UK until the evaluations were complete.
	The companies who developed the GM crops in the evaluations had already made applications at European level through directive 90/220 for approval for commercial cultivation. This requires the submission of a comprehensive dossier of information about the GMO and its properties and an environmental risk assessment. In one case (T25 maize) approval for commercial cultivation had already been granted. The risks to the environment of carrying out the farm scale evaluations were explicitly addressed before they commenced based on advice from the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment. The trials have been closely monitored and could and would have been halted if necessary.

Genetically Modified Organisms

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations she has received from the United States government regarding (a) the EU moratorium on the growing of GM crops and (b) the licensing of GM crops in the EU.

Elliot Morley: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State regularly discusses issues raised by GM crops with her counterparts from the United States and other nations. However, details of these exchanges are not recorded centrally.

Genetically Modified Organisms

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many invitations have been sent out for each of the planned debates on GM crops;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the size of each venue chosen to host GM public debates.

Elliot Morley: GM Nation?the public debate on GM issuesis being conducted by an independent steering board at arm's length from Government. The regional launch meetings organised by the steering board in Birmingham, Swansea, Taunton, Belfast, Glasgow and Harrogate were open to the public on a first come, first served basisno specific invitations were issued. The events involved facilitated active participation in small discussion groups, which limited their overall size, and the venues chosen were sufficient for this purpose. In the event, the numbers of tickets requested were in line with the capacity of all the venues selected. Two sessions were held at Taunton in response to public demand.
	In addition to these regional launch events, local authorities, other organisations and members of the public are being encouraged to organise their own local debates with the help of a debate toolkit. Copies of the toolkit are provided for each participant and facilitators can be provided on request for the larger county council level meetings. Members of the public can also get involved in the debate through the interactive debate website at www.gmnation.org.uk.

Illegal Logging

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the EU action plan to address the trade in illegal logging will be discussed by the Council of Ministers; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The Communication from the Commission on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade was raised by the UK and Denmark at Environment Council on 13 June 2003. The UK urged the Presidency to facilitate a full discussion in Council at an early time.

Illegal Logging

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the next steps in the (a) development and (b) implementation of the EU action plan to address the trade in illegal logging are; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The Communication from the Commission on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade was published on 21 May. The Commission request endorsement from Council and the European Parliament to:
	(a) Enter into negotiations for FLEGT Partnership agreements with wood producing countries;
	(b) Present a Regulation setting up the voluntary licensing scheme, in conjunction with wide stakeholder consultation; and
	(c) Review options for, and consider the impact of, further measures to support the Action Plan, including, in the absence of multilateral progress, the feasibility of legislation to control imports of illegally harvested timber, and report back to the Council on this work during 2004.
	(d) Member states are also asked to identify relevant national legislation which could be applied to address the illegal logging issue, and to inform the Commission of their findings.
	The UK Government are seeking an early discussion in Council in order to allow the Commission to take the process forward.

Illegal Logging

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if the UK Government will ensure that the EU action plan on illegal logging will include the introduction of legislation to ban the import of illegal timber into EU member states; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The Communication from the Commission on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade was published on 21 May. The Commission request endorsement from Council and the European Parliament to:
	(a) Enter into negotiations for FLEGT Partnership Agreements with wood producing countries;
	(b) Present a Regulation setting up the voluntary licensing scheme, in conjunction with wide stakeholder consultation; and
	(c) Review options for, and consider the impact of, further measures to support the Action Plan, including, in the absence of multilateral progress, the feasibility of legislation to control imports of illegally harvested timber, and report back to the Council on this work during 2004;
	(d) Member states are also asked to identify relevant national legislation which could be applied to address the illegal logging issue, and to inform the Commission of their findings.
	The UK Government are supportive of the proposed Action Plan, including the licensing scheme to prevent the importation of illegally harvested timber into the EU from participating countries and the review of options for further legislation to control imports of illegally harvested timber.

Illegal Logging

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether it is the Government's policy to support the development of EU legislation to ban the import of illegal timber into Europe; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The Communication from the Commission on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade was published on 21 May. The Commission request endorsement from Council and the European Parliament to:
	(a) Enter into negotiations for FLEGT Partnership agreements with wood producing countries;
	(b) Present a Regulation setting up the voluntary licensing scheme, in conjunction with wide stakeholder consultation; and
	(c) Review options for, and consider the impact of, further measures to support the Action Plan, including, in the absence of multilateral progress, the feasibility of legislation to control imports of illegally harvested timber, and report back to the Council on this work during 2004.
	(d) Member states are also asked to identify relevant national legislation which could be applied to address the illegal logging issue, and to inform the Commission of their findings.
	The Government supports the Commission's proposal to review the options for legislation to control imports of illegally harvested timber, will help with related analysis and, together with other member states, will consider carefully the Commission's report.

Landfill Licences

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 11 June 2003, Official Report, column 877W, for what reason the Environment Agency in Leeds wrote to residents on 10 June 2003 informing them that the modification to the licence applied for had been withdrawn.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 16 June 2003
	I understand from the Environment Agency that the letter was sent in response to one received by two members of the public, who had outlined their objection to the application, currently being considered by the Agency, for the modification of Waste Management Licence No 735 relating to a waste transfer station at Ingram Works, Wortley Moor Road, Leeds held by Harry Sanders Ltd.
	The response confirmed that the applicant had written formally to the Agency withdrawing that part of the modification application requesting the acceptance of bonded asbestos at the site. The remainder of the modification application is still being considered by the Agency.

Radioactive Materials

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list locations licensed by her Department for the use of radioactive materials; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: None is licensed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. In England and Wales registration of users of radioactivity is the responsibility of the Environment Agency.

Recycling

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of homes in England have (a) one material, (b) two materials, (c) three materials and (d) four materials or more collected from their home for recycling separately from their residual waste; and what percentage of household waste is recycled from homes in each of the above categories.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 9 June 2003
	The figures relate to 200102 which is the most recent year for which we have full statistics.
	The percentage of households with kerbside collection of recyclable materials:
	(a) one material12 per cent.
	(b) two materials11 per cent.
	(c) three materials11 per cent.
	(d) four materials or more24 per cent.
	This assumes co-mingled collection contains three materials.
	The recycling rate for each of the above is:
	(a) 6.7 per cent.
	(b) 10.1 per cent.
	(c) 10.8 per cent.
	(d) 11.7 per cent.
	These figures do not include any recyclates from civic amenity site collection which generally makes up about one third of the total figurewhich is why the headline figure is higher.
	The reason for the absence is that kerbside recylate collections are monitored by the Waste Collection Authority and waste from the civic amenity sites are dealt with by the Waste Disposal Authority.

Regulatory Bodies

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the (a) number of staff employed by and (b) budget of each regulatory body for which her Department is responsible in each year since 1997.

Alun Michael: This information is available in published documents. The annual publication Public Bodies contains details of all non-departmental public bodies and public corporations sponsored by departments, and includes details of the number of staff employed at 31 March each year, and details of their annual government funding and expenditure. The latest published edition is Public Bodies 2002.
	Copies of Public Bodies 2002, and previous editions going back to 1982 are available in the Libraries of the House. It is also available, together with editions going back to 1998, at: http://www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/agencies-publicbodies/publicbodies/index.shtm.

Tourism

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many visitors visited (a) the Brecon Beacons, (b) the Norfolk Broads, (c) Dartmoor, (d) Snowdonia, (e) Exmoor, (f) the Lake District, (g) Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, (h) the North York Moors, (i) Northumberland, (j) the Peak District, (k) the Pembrokeshire Coast and (l) the Yorkshire Dales in (i) 1997, (ii) 1998, (iii) 1999, (iv) 2000, (v) 2001, (vi) 2002 and (vii) 2003 to date.

Alun Michael: Statistics are not collected annually. The last comprehensive visitor survey of the national parks was undertaken in 1994. The figures for national parks in England and Wales are given in the following table. A new survey is to be undertaken in 2004.
	
		
			 National park Visitor days 
		
		
			 Norfolk Broads 5,361,000 
			 Dartmoor 3,825,000 
			 Exmoor 1,397,000 
			 Lake District 13,925,000 
			 North York Moors 7,790,000 
			 Northumberland 1,408,000 
			 Peak District 12,400,000 
			 Yorkshire Dales 8,303,000 
			 Pembrokeshire Coast 4,622,000 
			 Snowdonia 6,568,000 
			 Brecon Beacons 3,622,000 
		
	
	Policy for national parks in Wales is a matter for the National Assembly for Wales. The national parks in Scotland come under the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament, which has established them, and did not exist at the time of the 1994 Survey.

Veal Imports

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what have been the total annual imports of veal from Holland for each year from 1985 to date.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 13 June 2003
	Official Overseas Trade Statistics do not separately identify veal. The following table shows the total annual imports of bovine meat from Holland for each year from 1985 to date.
	
		
			Bovine meat (fresh, chilled or frozen) with bone in   Bovine meat (fresh, chilled or frozen) boneless 
			  Tonnes Thousand Tonnes Thousand 
		
		
			 1985 4,996 12,965 6,468 16,851 
			 1986 7,950 18,621 7,174 19,507 
			 1987 8,122 20,961 9,700 25,976 
			 1988 15,481 39,234 10,354 26,039 
			 1989 11,798 34,870 8,119 21,822 
			 1990 5,666 18,751 5,794 18,914 
			 1991 7,419 19,061 5,512 16,286 
			 1992 3,804 13,294 4,538 14,612 
			 1993 4,200 12,047 3,816 11,374 
			 1994 3,662 11,112 5,040 13,584 
			 1995 1,794 6,124 6,389 16,235 
			 1996 3,123 7,253 8,986 19,485 
			 1997 3,455 7,314 14,126 30,883 
			 1998 2,311 5,711 7,105 17,057 
			 1999 1,767 5,108 8,167 19,160 
			 2000 1,645 4,143 6,753 18,105 
			 2001 2,151 4,019 10,811 23,313 
			 2002 2,304 4,236 11,241 25,197 
		
	
	Note:
	2002 data is provisional and subject to amendment
	Source:
	HM Customs and Excise
	Data prepared by Statistics (Commodities  Food) Accounts and Trade, ESD, DEFRA

Waste Management

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the operator pollution risk appraisal score of each of the licensed (a) waste disposal and (b) landfill sites in (i) the Leeds Metropolitan District area and (ii) the Yorkshire and Humberside area was in each year since 1990.

Elliot Morley: The Environment Agency has supplied the relevant data which will be placed in the House Library.

Waste Management

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on progress (a) since February 2002 towards meeting the targets of the Government's Waste Management Strategy of 2000 and (b) since the Waste Summit.

Elliot Morley: The information is as follows:
	
		
			 Target 200001 200102 
		
		
			 Recycle or compost 17 per cent. of household waste by 200304 11.2 per cent.(Municipal waste 12.3 per cent.) 12.4 per cent.(Municipal waste 13.5 per cent.) 
			
			 By 2005 to reduce the amount of industrial and commercial waste sent to landfill to 85 per cent. of that landfilled in 1998; Provisional EA data suggests that there was a reduction of 8 per cent. between 199899200001 in the amount of waste sent to licensed landfill sites. This means that we are at 92 per cent. of 1998 levels, and are hopeful that we will meet this target. The Environment Agency will be conducting the next Industrial and Commercial Waste Survey this year. 
			
			 To recover value from 40 per cent. of municipal waste by 2005  22.3 per cent. 
			
			 Reduce biodegradable waste landfilled to 75 per cent. of that produced in 1995, by 2010 (with derogation) It is estimated that we landfilled 93 per cent. of biodegradable waste produced in 1995, in 200001 No current figures available 
		
	
	Since the Waste Summit in 2001, the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit has produced its report. Waste Not, Want Not. This looks at how our progress in reducing our reliance on landfill and moving towards more sustainable waste management might be speeded up.
	The Government published their response on 6 May. In the response, the Government accept the majority of the recommendations and support the direction or intent of many of the others. The Government have already acted on a number of recommendations. A package of measures is now being taken forward:
	Landfill Tax will be increased by 3 per tonne in 200506 and by at least 3 per tonne in the years thereafter, on the way to a medium to long-term rate of 35 per tonne.
	The Landfill Tax Credit Scheme has been reformed and a proportion of the funding84/92/92 millionhas been re-directed to a new Sustainable Waste Management Programme in England in 200304, 200405 and 200506;
	The new Waste Implementation Programme (WIP) run by Defra will concentrate on improving waste minimisation, recycling and composting, and researching new technologies for dealing with those wastes which are not readily reduced, reused or recycled. A Local Authority Delivery Taskforce will assist local authorities to meet their recycling and composting targets.
	A new Delivery Team and Steering Group is being established in Defra to drive forward implementation of the Government's response to the Strategy report and new programmes of work in Defra and WRAP;
	Local authority funding of 90 million each year for 200405 and 200506 has been provided for the Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund or its successor Performance Reward Fund.
	The Waste and Emissions Trading Bill includes provisions to allow waste disposal authorities to direct waste collection authorities to collect separated waste. It will soon include measures to promote more strategic waste planning at a local level in two tier authorities.
	A review of the health and environmental effects of waste management and disposal options has been commissioned. This work is well under way.
	There will be a review of the planning guidelines for waste management, Planning Policy Guidance 10. The Government recognise that there will be an increasing need for waste management facilities to deal with our waste, in particular, for recycling. The review will aim to improve the guidance and help local authorities to make timely and appropriate decisions. Expansion of WRAP will take forward a number of waste minimisation schemes:
	Home composting schemeincrease the number of households carrying out home composting and promote the effectiveness of composting carried out.
	Reusable nappies schemepromoting the use of reusable nappies.
	Retailer initiativewith top retailers, aiming to reduce the amount of waste entering the waste stream from supermarket purchased products.
	Innovation fundaimed at identifying and developing innovative approaches to waste minimisation.
	Kerbside task forcethe Recycling and Organics Technical Advisory Team (ROTATE) to work with local authorities to help maximise the potential of kerbside collections, particularly biodegradable organics.
	National education and awareness programmeraising the general public's awareness of waste issues and the benefits of recycling,
	Local education and awareness programmeto support the ROTATE and waste minimisation initiatives outlined above.
	Government estimate that new WIP measures alone will contribute substantially to recycling and composting rates, cumulating to an estimated overall impact of 21 per cent. by 200506 and bring us much closer to our targets.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Academy for Gifted and Talented Children

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of pupils accepted for courses at the Academy for Gifted and Talented Children in 2003 come from the maintained sector.

David Miliband: 80 per cent. of applications so far received for the Academy's 2003 summer schools are from the maintained sector; the remainder are either from home-educated students or from the independent sector.

Arson

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total cost was of damage to school premises from malicious fires in each year since 1997 (a) in England and (b) by LEA.

David Miliband: The Department does not collect these figures.

Arson

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what targets his Department has set in relation to malicious fires on school premises.

David Miliband: The Department does not set targets for malicious fires, but we take very seriously the threat that arson poses to some schools. If a fire should happen in a school, the Department's primary concern is for the safety of pupils, teachers and other users. Regulation 17 of the Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999 requires that every part of a school building, and of the land provided for a school, shall be such that the safe escape of the occupants in case of fire is reasonably assured. Schools are also covered by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and by subsequent related regulations. These include aspects of fire safety.
	To help schools manage fire safety, The Department published Managing School Facilities Guide 6, Fire Safety, in 2000. This offers guidance on how to minimise the risks of both accidental and malicious fires occurring, and advises on how to identify hazards and carry out risk assessments. It also gives advice on training and on fire detection and alarm systems.
	In addition, officials from the Department sit on the Arson in Schools Working Group, a group of experts representing the insurance industry, the fire and police services, local authorities and government departments. The Group exists to research and promote ways of reducing malicious fires in schools. One of its outputs has been the publication of the guide How to Combat Arson in Schools, copies of which have been sent to all schools in the UK.

Capital Allocation, Kent

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how he intends to ensure that schools in Kent can make rapid use of the devolved capital allocation announced on 15 May.

David Miliband: On 15 May, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced that in response to exceptional pressures this year on some school budgets he has decided to help schools manage their budgets by allowing them, in discussion with their local education authorities, to use their devolved capital funding to support their day-to-day running costs. This is to be for this year only and must be a decision taken by the school with the agreement of the local education authority only where there is a clear case that failing to do so would lead to excessive instability within the school.
	On 16 May, my Department made detailed guidance available to schools and to local education authorities, to enable them immediately to discuss locally where thus capital flexibility can be used. My Department is not included in these discussions, but we expect later this summer to ask all authorities of the extent to which this flexibility has been used.

City Academies

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list each site for which his Department has considered a city academy, indicating for each (a) the LEA, (b) the names of private sector partners, (c) what dates have been agreed for an opening date, (d) the expected number of pupils, and their age range, (e) the contribution to capital costs from the public purse and (f) the estimated revenue funding per project.

David Miliband: holding answer 16 June 2003
	The table sets out the information available. Academy projects receive modest funding to develop proposals to a point where we are satisfied that the plans are viable and a funding agreement can be signed. From this point, projects receive additional funding to implement their proposals and prepare for opening.
	Once open, Academies receive an operational budget to cover their day-to-day running costs, which is comparable to the level of funding for similar maintained schools within their local authority areas. The level of capital funding is intended to ensure that Academies are built and equipped to a standard comparable with the best in the maintained sector.
	
		
			 (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) 
			  Private sector partners Opening dates Number of pupils and age range Capital costs from the public purse( million) Revenue Funding 200304( thousand) 
		
		
			 Barnet Peter Shalson 2004 1,425 1118 22 (11)900 
			 Bexley Sir David Garrard 2002 1,400 1118 25.75 4,232,598 
			 Bradford To be confirmed 2005 2,000 1118 (12)19.5 (11)250 
			 Brent Sir Frank Lowe 2003 1,200 1118 21.4 4,419,823 
			 Bristol John Laycock, University of the West of England and others 2003 1,236 1118 21. 87 5,437,152 
			 Croydon Lord Harris of Peckham and the Whitgift Foundation 2005/06 1,300 1118 17.87 (11)250 
			 Doncaster The Vardy Foundation 2005 1,470 1118 (12)19.5 (11)250 
			 Ealing Alec Reed 2003 1,200 1118 27.53 4,644,164 
			 Greenwich Archdiocese of Southwark 2004 1200 1116 (12)23.5 (11)900 
			 Hackney Clive Bourne 2004 900 1116 20.5 (11)900 
			 Hackney (13) 2006 (13) 1116 (12)21.5 (11)250 
			 Haringey Church of England and the Greig Trust 2003 1,200 1118 11 3,966,945 
			 Hillingdon Barry Townsley and others 2004 1,250 1118 19 (11)900 
			 Hillingdon Watford Football Club 2005 1,000 1119 (12)23.5 (11)250 
			 Kensington  Chelsea Martyn Arbib 2005/6 1,150 1118 (12)23.5 (11)250 
			 Kent Roger De Haan 2005 1,180 1118 (12)19.5 (11)250 
			 Kent The Saga Group and Kings School Canterbury 2006 1,480 1118 (12)19.5 (11)250 
			 Lambeth United Learning Trust 2004 1,200 1118 22.28 (11)900 
			 Leeds The Church of England and Intercity Group 2006 1,170 1118 (12)19.5 (11)250 
			 Lewisham The De La Salle Brothers and Archdiocese of Southwark 2005 1,260 1116 (12)23.5 (11)250 
			 Lewisham The Haberdashers' Livery Company 2005 1,550 1118 (12)23.5 (11)250 
			 Liverpool The University of Liverpool and others 2005 1,650 1118 (12)23 (11)250 
			 Liverpool The Diocese and Archdiocese of Liverpool 2005 900 1116 18.9 (11)900 
			 Manchester United Learning Trust and Manchester Science Park 2003 900 1116 10.62 3,498,929 
			 Middlesbrough Amey plc 2002 1,200 1116 18.59 5,381,861 
			 Middlesbrough The Vardy Foundation 2003 1,250 1118 19.2 5,744,508 
			 Northampton United Learning Trust 2004 1,420 1118 18.7 (11)900 
			 Nottingham Sir Harry Djanogly 2003 1,620 1118 18.61 7,153,347 
			 Sandwell The Mercers Company and Thomas Telford Online 2005/06 1,200 1118 16.5 (11)900 
			 Solihull I M Group 2005 1,350 1118 (12)19.5 (11)250 
			 Southwark The Corporation of London 2003 1,200 1118 27.2 1,788,246 
			 Southwark Lord Harris of Peckham 2003 1,450 1118 19.97 5,998,577 
			 Walsall The Mercers Company and Thomas Telford Online 2003 1,200 1118 15.5 2,927,266 
			 Westminster Chelsfield plc 2006 1175 1118 (12)23.5 (11)250 
			 Westminster United Learning Trust 2006 1,175 1118 (12)23.5 (11)250 
		
	
	(11) Estimated figures for revenue funding include feasibility and implementation funding. These are the total amounts of such funding for which projects are eligible during the relevant phases. Actual expenditure in any given year will depend on the progress of the project.
	(12) Estimated figures, subject to change, and will be finalised when the projects are in a position to sign a funding agreement with the Secretary of State.
	(13) To be confirmed Note:
	Revenue figures for 200304 for the three open Academies and the nine Academies due to open in September 2003 include implementation and start-up grant, as appropriate, in addition to the General Annual Grant payable to meet their normal running costs.

Criminal Records Bureau

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make it his policy to recompense schools for the additional costs of searches through the Criminal Records Bureau.

David Miliband: The cost of Criminal Records Bureau Disclosures falls to individuals. Schools which choose to pay for Disclosures on behalf of staff are expected to meet the cost from within their existing budgets. My Department is contributing 7.4 million towards the Bureau's costs in 200304.

Criminal Records Bureau

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what total costs schools have incurred since September 2002 as a result of the Criminal Records Bureau checks.

David Miliband: The cost of CRB checks falls to individuals: schools which decide to pay their fee are expected to meet this cost from within their existing budgets. I am not able to provide information on the costs involved as my Department does not hold information on the number of checks which have been carried out on school-based staff.

Criminal Records Bureau

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the cost to (a) schools and (b) his Department of funding Criminal Records Bureau checks in (i) 2002 and (ii) 2003.

David Miliband: My Department is not able to estimate the cost to schools of funding CRB checks as we do not hold information on the number of CRB checks which schools have applied for. The cost of applications falls to individuals: schools which decide to pay their fee are expected to meet this cost from within their existing budgets. My Department contributed 4.2 million towards the CRB's costs in 200203 and will contribute a further 7.4 million in 200304.

Departmental Website

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what actions he has taken or is taking to ensure that the websites of his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are accessible to partially sighted and blind people; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Twigg: The Department for Education and Skills website has been designed in accordance with UK government accessibility guidelines for web design, incorporating guidance from the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), the accessibility initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the standards and development body for the web. The site design has also been validated using Bobby; an industry standard web-based accessibility tool that analyses web pages for their accessibility to people with disabilities.
	The Department has also ensured that non-departmental public bodies are aware of UK government web standards and has issued supplementary guidance for these bodies.

Beacon Schools

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the beacon schools which have not been accepted as leading edge schools.

David Miliband: We will shortly be making an announcement of the schools that have been successful in this round of the Leading Edge Programme. At that stage we will provide a list of schoolsincluding Beacon Schoolsthat applied but were unsuccessful.

Beacon Schools

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the structural distinction between the Leading Practice programme and the Beacon school initiative.

David Miliband: The Leading Edge Programme is specific to secondary schools and builds on the success of the Beacon Schools initiative to encourage an accelerated pace of change and improvement. The LEA puts significantly more emphasis on active local collaboration to spread excellence.
	In primary, the 'Leading Practice' programme, described in the recent primary strategy document 'Excellence and Enjoyment', will also build on successful practice developed through the beacon programme. We intend to develop a 'Leading Practice' programme with common national criteria and branding. It will be focussed on identifying outstanding work in particular areas, within schools that are performing well across the board. The LEA will have a role in working with 'leading practice' schools to ensure they contribute to local networking arrangements so that excellent practice is spread widely.

Education Funding

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was made available to East Sussex local education authority under the Standards Fund in each year since 1997.

David Miliband: The following table shows the Standards Fund grant for East Sussex since 1997.
	The figures include Government grant only, they do not include local authority contributions to the Standards Fund.
	
		Standards Fund grant allocated to East Sussex --  million
		
			 Year Recurrent Grant Capital Grant Total Standards Education Standards Spending Assessment 
		
		
			 199798 1.7 0.1 1.8 151.3 
			 199899 2.2 1.4 3.6 164.7 
			 19992000 6.8 1.1 6.9 174.3 
			 200001 9.6 4.2 13.8 185.3 
			 200102 11.3 6.8 18.1 196.0 
			 200203 12.3 10.9 23.2 199.0 
			 200304 9.6 10.6 20.2 (14)224.0 
		
	
	(14) Education Formula Funding Share (EFSS). This includes the transfer of Class Size grant and Nursery Education Grant. The equivalent figure on the same basis for 200203 would be 210.4 million.
	The recurrent grant figure for 200203 includes class size grant of 0.95 million. The funding for class size grant is distributed via the Education Formula Spending Shares (EFSS) in 200304. On a like for like basis East Sussex has received an increase in EFSS per pupil of 3.2 per cent. on a like for like basis.

Education Funding

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when education maintenance allowance will be available to Gloucestershire.

Alan Johnson: The national Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) scheme will be available from September 2004 across the whole of England to those students who complete their compulsory education in the 200304 academic year.

Ethnic/Cultural Diversity

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent steps his Department has taken to educate (a) primary and (b) secondary school students in (i) ethnicity and (ii) cultural diversity in Britain.

Stephen Twigg: Understanding the origins and implications of the diverse ethnic, cultural, national, regional and religious identities in the United Kingdom is an important part of Citizenship education. Citizenship education is part of the Personal, Social and Health Education framework for primary schools and became part of the statutory National Curriculum for 1116 year olds in September 2002. Pupils are taught from an early age to respect the differences between people, to appreciate other's feelings and points of view, to recognise the effects of stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination of any kind and to develop the skills to challenge them assertively. Guidance from QCA on how to deliver these aspects of the National curriculum was sent to all schools in 2002.

Examination Markers

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent discussions he has had with organisations responsible for employing A level markers; what assessment he has made of whether they are employing sufficient numbers, and of the quality needed, to carry out the job; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: Ministers and officials stay in touch with the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) on examination matters. We have made available an additional 6 million this year which is funding a number of initiatives from awarding bodies to help ensure that sufficient markers are recruited.
	The Chief Executive of QCA has reported, publicly, that the exam boards are in a better position than last year on marker recruitment.

Further Education

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many targets and milestones are prescribed as part of the Government's FE strategy, Success for All.

Alan Johnson: Success for All contributes to several of the Department's PSA targets and is being delivered through a three-year development plan agreed by the Learning and Skills Council with each provider. These plans specify four improvement targets with milestones for each year. The targets are for learner numbers, learner success rates, employer engagement, and the proportion of teachers, lecturers and trainers with professional qualifications. The target for learner numbers will be split for adults and young people and the target for learner success rates split into long and short qualifications.

Higher Education

Si�n Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action he is taking to ensure universities and colleges are collaborating effectively with schools in order to cultivate among disadvantaged children the aspiration to enter higher education.

Alan Johnson: The Aimhigher programme supports a wide range of activity involving collaborative working between schools, colleges and higher education institutions in order to increase the educational attainment and aspirations of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Activities can include university tasters such as summer schools, mentoring, support for teachers, master classes and many more. Much of the activity is aimed at getting year 11 pupils to stay on in education and get better grades so that they can aim higher. The Aimhigher publicity campaign provides clearer information and better marketing of the route to HE for young people with a particular focus on reaching families and communities who do not have a tradition of entering HE, raising expectations of students and teachers alike. Any university wishing to introduce higher fees from 2006 must first have an access agreement, approved by the Office for Fair Access, and outreach with schools and colleges will be one of the essential elements of such an agreement.

Higher Education

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he is taking to increase awareness of further and higher education opportunities amongst under-represented groups.

Alan Johnson: The Government are committed to widening participation in Further Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE). In FE, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has a clear remit to raise and widen participation in education and training. The LSC's Successful Participation for All: Widening Adult Participation Strategy was launched for consultation in February of this year. The LSC will publish its resultant Widening Participation Strategy in the autumn. This is likely to consider widening participation targets, funding and prospects for future growth in FE and training.
	Our plans for HE are set out in The Future of Higher Education (Cm 5735) with more detail given in Widening Participation in Higher Education (DfES/0301/2003). The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) published its plans in March in Funding for Widening Participation in England. HEFCE is spending 285 million on widening participation in 200304. In addition, the DfES's Aimhigher Programme is aimed at raising levels of awareness and aspiration towards HE of young people in more disadvantaged parts of the country. We are spending 62 million in 200304 on this Programme.

Higher Education

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what additional financial assistance he intends to give to universities to enable them to provide (a) outreach work with schools and colleges and (b) bursaries and other financial support as described in Widening Participation in Higher Education.

Alan Johnson: The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) intends to make available 285 million in 200304 for widening participation activities. This compares with 55 million last year. In addition, the Department is also providing 62 million in 200304 for widening participation to partnerships of schools, colleges and universities through Aimhigher, compared to 35 million in 200203. A further 5 million is being made available in 200304 for the Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth based at the University of Warwick, and 2.5 million is available to support development of foundation degrees.
	With respect to bursaries for young people, are expanding Opportunity Bursaries so that grants to the sum of 18.5 million will be available in 200304, compared to 11.5 million last year. The level of hardship funding is likely to be around the same in 20034 at 96 million.
	In addition, from September 2003, a new Parents Learning Allowance will be paid directly to student parents on low income. From September 2004, a new Higher Education Grant of 1,000 per year will be paid directly to poorer students. Details of eligibility to this grant will be published in due course. The Department is also planning to make available assistance to students studying Foundation Degrees. Details will be announced later in the year.

Higher Education

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the amount spent in 200203 by universities on (a) outreach work with schools and colleges to help raise the level of attainment, aspirations and applications and (b) bursaries and other financial support.

Alan Johnson: The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) allocated to universities and colleges a total of 55 million for the financial year 200203 for outreach work. A further 35 million was spent by Excellence Challenge partnerships which comprise schools, colleges and higher education institutions. 96m was made available for higher education institutions to use to provide bursaries and other financial support for students. The Department has no information on the additional amounts spent by institutions from their own funds.

Higher Education

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills to what extent his decisions on the charging of tuition fees by universities will be determined by his assessment of their admission arrangements under the proposals set out in Widening Participation in Higher Education.

Alan Johnson: Under the proposals in Widening participation in higher education, institutions that wish to charge variable fees in excess of the standard fee (currently 1,100) for any of their courses will be required to enter into an access agreement with Office for Fair Access (OFFA). The agreement will cover a 5-year period, though there will be some flexibility for the institution to modify its arrangements during that period. An individual university's admissions policies and procedures will be outside the remit of the access agreement and OFFA.

Higher Education

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to create teaching-only universities; and if he will make a statement on (a) the value of combined teaching and research departments and (b) how this link will be preserved.

Alan Johnson: As set out in the White Paper The Future of Higher Education (Cmnd 5735), the Government's vision for higher education is one in which each institution plays to its individual strengths. We expect all universities to excel in teaching but also have strengths in one or more of the following areas: research; knowledge transfer; and linkages with the local and regional economy.
	In order to acknowledge that teaching is, in itself, a core mission for a university we propose to change the criteria for university title so that it is awarded on the basis of taught degree awarding powers, up to masters level, and student numbers.
	Evidence available to the Department suggests that effective teaching requires academic staff to engage in high quality scholarship rather than undertaking research activity themselves. For that reason, new requirements about scholarship have been included in the proposed revised criteria for degree awarding powers and university title.

Higher Education

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to attract prospective entrants into the higher education profession; and what measures are in place to address staff shortages.

Alan Johnson: While the recruitment of staff is the responsibility of higher education institutions, the Government is concerned that higher education institutions should be able to recruit, retain and reward the high quality staff they need. That is why we announced in the White Paper that spending on higher education in England will rise from a total of 7.5 billion in 200203 to almost 10 billion in 200506. In the 3 years between 200102 and 200304, we have allocated 330 million specifically to help with the recruitment, retention and reward of all staff and, in particular, to value and reward good teachers. We have also pledged 50 million in 200405 and 117 million in 200506 for this purpose. From August 2003, we will be introducing golden hellos for 1,000 new lecturers in shortage subjects each year.

Higher Education

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the number and outcome of regional consultation workshops held in connection with the White Paper on the Future of Higher Education (Cm 5735); and what further consultation exercises are planned.

Alan Johnson: We held 8 regional consultation events in connection with the White Paper during April and May 2003, attended by around 800 delegates from all interested parties in the higher education sector.
	We intend to present the outcomes from these and the written consultation exercise, at the same time as we respond to the Report of the Select Committee for Higher Education. A number of consultation exercises will be undertaken by the Department and the Higher Education Funding Council for England in the coming months on specific areas of policy related to implementing the commitments made in the White Paper.

Higher Education

David Rendel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the additional resources required in each year between 2003 and 2010 in order to meet the Government's 50 per cent.participation target, broken down to show (a) the increase in the direct grant to universities and (b) additional funding to improve recruitment and retention.

Alan Johnson: holding answer 17 June 2003
	The funding for higher education to 200506 was set out in The Future of higher education Cmd 5735, and in the annual grant letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England. Assessments of the costs for increasing and widening participation beyond 200506 will be made as part of the 2004 Spending Review, work on which will commence shortly.

Higher Education (Selby)

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people from each ward in Selby district received higher education in each year since 1997.

Alan Johnson: Figures for the number of people who go on to higher education are not collated centrally on a ward or constituency basis. The closest available information, as given in the table, shows the number of students from North Yorkshire local education authority who were enrolled on higher education courses in UK HE institutions.
	
		Students from North Yorkshire Local Education Authorityon HE courses(15)
		
			 Academic Year Students 
		
		
			 199697 16,400 
			 199798 16,100 
			 199899 18,400 
			 19992000 16,100 
			 200001 16,500 
			 200102 17,000 
		
	
	(15) Covers full-time and part-time students on both postgraduate and undergraduate courses. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest hundred.
	Source:Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

Independent Schools

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what account will be taken of the position of children from lower income families in receipt of scholarships or bursaries at independent schools under his proposals set out in 'Widening participation in higher education'.

Alan Johnson: Paragraph one of Section four of Widening participation in higher education sets out a range of proposals which will help students from lower income families.

Leadership Incentive Grant

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) selective, (b) grammar and (c) independent schools have received funding under the Leadership Incentive Grant; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: 1402 mainstream secondary schools are eligible for the new Leadership Incentive Grant which began in April. Twenty nine of these are grammar schools which select wholly or mainly by ability. Independent schools are not eligible for the Grant.
	One of the primary aims of the Leadership Incentive Grant is to stimulate and embed collaborative working to improve standards of teaching and learning amongst local groups of schools. As part of the initiative, schools are required to invest significant resources in working collaboratively. Groups of schools have developed collaborative plans which set out shared priorities for action. Collaborative plans are based upon a rigorous self and peer review of individual schools' strengths and weaknesses, identifying capacity which can be shared to raise standards across the community of schools.

Leading Edge Schools

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools in counties in the South East of England have received funding as Leading Edge Schools; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: We will shortly be making an announcement of the schools that have been successful in this round of the Leading Edge Programme, at which stage a full list of schools that have been successful will be available.

Maintained Schools

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills for what reasons it is his policy that maintained schools must use a different external adviser each year in carrying out the performance review of the head teacher; and under what statute this power to direct is derived.

David Miliband: holding answer 13 June 2003
	Maintained schools are not obliged to use a different external adviser each year. Our current guidance to schools is that the same accredited external adviser may advise the governing body in carrying out the performance review of their headteacher up to three times.

Ministerial Visits

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list official ministerial visits made to schools, broken down by date, school and minister, since 2001.

Stephen Twigg: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Nanotechnology

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether his Department has examined the extent to which nanotechnology should be part of the science national curriculum.

Alan Johnson: While nanotechnology is not specified in the statutory National Curriculum, there is potential in the National Curriculum for science teachers to explore some of the scientific aspects of nanotechnology with their students. At Key Stage 4, students learn about making and changing molecules, which is a precursor to understanding nanotechnology. The QCA are currently consulting on changes to the programme of study for science Key Stage 4, following their recent review. The new science GCSE, Science in 21st Century, which is being piloted from September 2003 includes emphasis on students' understanding of the ethical issues surrounding potential applications of controversial new scientific technologies. The Applied Science GCSE, introduced in September 2002, provides an opportunity for young people to study for a science qualification which focuses on vocationally-related aspects of science.
	There is also potential for the social implications and ethical aspects of new scientific technologies such as nanotechnology and genetic engineering to be covered in Citizenship, introduced in the National Curriculum in secondary schools in September 2002.

Official Spelling

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make it his policy that all official (a) correspondence, (b) reports and (c) documentation from his office uses the English spelling of words where this differs from the US version.

Stephen Twigg: I can confirm it is this Department's policy to use the English spelling of words in preference to the US version and to write all correspondence in plain English. Departmental publications are prepared in line with Guidance on the Work of the Government Information and Communication Service.

Pay Rates (Non-teaching Staff)

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent discussions ministers have had with UNISON about the appropriate rates of pay for non-teaching staff in schools; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: I have met support staff unions on a number of occasions in recent months. Meetings have focused in particular on monitoring the implementation of the National Agreement on Raising Standards and Tackling Workload, which was signed by government, the local authority employers and school workforce unions on 15 January this year.
	The government's position remains that the terms and conditions of employment of school support staff are best determined locally, in light of local needs and circumstances. The National Agreement will improve training and career progression opportunities for support staff and makes clear that we expect their pay to reflect their level of training, skills and responsibilities.

Public-Private Partnerships

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of PPP contracts for educational provision in England in the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: Contracts with private sector providers for education provision are for the most part the responsibility of local education authorities, who assess their effectiveness as part of the contract management process. Ofsted has in the past 12 months inspected seven authorities which had contracted out significant education functions at the time of the inspection, or previously had entered into short-term management support contracts as part of an intervention solution. In all cases, performance had improved by at least one grade since the previous inspection. The recently published Indepen/Bannock Consulting Evaluation of new ways of working in LEAs studied three cases where education provision or senior management had been contracted out. In all three cases, they concluded that the arrangements were organisationally robust, had already or promised well to improve performance, represented value for money, and were likely to be sustainable and replicable.
	PPP contracts have also been used for three schools in Surrey. These are the responsibility of Surrey Education Authority who let the contracts and it is for the LEA to assess the effectiveness of the contracts.

Pupil Numbers

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list, by LEA, the future estimates his Department has made of (a) primary and (b) secondary school pupil numbers.

David Miliband: This information is available only at national level.
	
		Projected pupil numbers for England as a whole -- 000s(16)
		
			 At January Maintainedprimary schools Maintained secondary schools 
		
		
			 2002(17) 4,214 3,264 
			 2003(18) 4,167 3,308 
			 2004(19) 4,099 3,334 
			 2005(19) 4,048 3,325 
		
	
	(16) Full-time equivalents, counting each part-time pupil as 0.5.
	(17) Actual
	(18) Provisional
	(19) Projected

Qualifications and Curriculum Authority

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the relationship between the Government and the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority; what plans he has to change it; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The Government work closely with QCA. My right hon. Friend and I meet Sir Anthony Greener and Dr. Ken Boston, the Chair and Chief Executive of QCA, regularly on a wide range of issues. Regular meetings also take place between officials. I am satisfied that the arrangements in place secure the right framework of accountability while ensuring that the QCA is properly independent in its setting of examination and testing standards.
	A Memorandum of Understanding which describes the relationship between the Department and QCA has been agreed and made available on the QCA website. I am placing a copy in the Library. We will continue to keep the relationship under review.

Rural Affairs

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps are being taken in urban-based schools (a) lessons and (b) activities to encourage greater awareness of (i) rural and (ii) countryside issues.

David Miliband: Growing Schools, launched in September 2001, seeks to tackle concerns that young people have become distanced from the natural environment and know little about food, farming, agriculture or the countryside. We are working with a number of partners to encourage schools to use the 'outdoor classroom' as a resource across the curriculum. We want all pupils, in both rural and urban communities to have opportunities to gain knowledge and understanding of rural and countryside issues through first hand experience.

Rural Schools

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many rural small schools have closed in England in each year since 1997.

David Miliband: The Department does not have reliable data on the number of rural school closures for individual years before 1998. Following the introduction of the presumption against closure in 1998, the number of rural small schools approved for closure is as follows:
	
		
			  
		
		
			 1998 5 
			 1999 2 
			 2000 2 
			 2001 3 
			 2002 3 
			 2003 3 
		
	
	The Department defines a small primary school as one with fewer than 200 pupils and a small secondary school as one with fewer than 600 pupils.

School League Tables

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total cost was of producing and publishing the most recent (a) primary school performance tables of achievements in Key Stage 2 tests, (b) secondary school performance tables of achievements in Key Stage 3 tests, (c) secondary school performance tables of achievements in GCSE examinations and vocational qualifications, (d) school and college performance tables of achievements in A/AS examinations and vocational qualifications, (e) pilot tables testing the calculation and presentation of a Key Stage 2-GCSE/GNVQ value added measure and (f) pilot tables testing the reporting of achievements in all approved qualifications at age 16.

David Miliband: The cost of producing the most recent (2002) school and college performance data is as follows:
	
		Cost of producing school and college performance data 2002 --  million
		
			 Data Cost 
		
		
			  
			  
			 (a) Primary school performance tables of achievements in Key Stage 2 tests 0.9 
			 (b) Secondary school performance tables of achievements in Key Stage 3 tests n/a 
			 (c) Secondary school performance tables of achievements in GCSE examinations and vocational qualifications 1.98 
			 (d) School and college performance tables of achievements in A/AS examinations and vocational qualifications n/a 
			 (e) Pilot tables testing the calculation and presentation of a Key Stage 2-GCSE/GNVQ value added measure 0.15 
			 (f) Tables testing the reporting of achievements in all approved qualifications at age 16 n/a 
		
	
	Notes
	1. The figures shown above are programme costs and do not include departmental staff costs.
	2. The secondary school performance tables of achievements in Key Stage 3 tests were published alongside the secondary school performance tables of achievements in GCSE examinations and vocational qualifications.
	3. The secondary school performance tables of achievements in GCSE examinations and vocational qualifications and the school and college performance tables of achievements in A/AS examinations and vocational qualifications are managed as one exercise so there are no separate costings.
	4. The tables testing the reporting of achievements in all approved qualifications at age 16 will be piloted in 2003.

School League Tables

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total cost of producing school and college performance tables was in 2003, including (a) data collection and analysis, (b) production, (c) publication and (d) distribution.

David Miliband: holding answer 9 June 2003
	The breakdown of the cost of producing the most recent (2002) school and college performance data is as follows:
	
		Breakdown of cost of producing school and college performance data 2002 --  million
		
			 Data Cost 
		
		
			 Data collection and analysis 0.8 
			 Production (20)2.05 
			 Publication 0.09 
			 Distribution 0.09 
		
	
	(20) This figure was higher in 2002 because of the need to carry out additional confirmations of results.
	Notes
	1. The figures shown above are programme costs and do not include departmental staff costs.
	2. The data for the primary tables were checked and compiled by the Department then published by LEAs on 5 December 2002. The Department makes the data available on their website but hard copies of the booklets are available from individual LEAs.
	3. The Department published the 2002 secondary school performance tables on 23 January 2003 and the 2002 post 16 tables on 3 April 2003. Distribution costs have been radically reduced since 2001 with the introduction of print on demand. We no longer print and distribute bulk copies but still ensure all schools and local libraries receive one copy of the tables for information purposes.

School Funding (Essex)

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many schools in Essex are running a deficit budget;
	(2)  if he will list the schools in Castle Point that are running a deficit budget, and the size of the deficit in each case.

David Miliband: The latest outturn statement published by Essex Local Education Authority shows that 21 schools ended the financial year 200102 with a deficit balance. Of these, two schools were in the Castle Point constituency: Leigh Beck Infant School and Nursery (-6,915) and The Cornelius Vermuyden School (-1,633).
	Figures for the year ending 31 March 2003 are due to be published by authorities by 9 October 2003.

School Governors

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was paid in attendance allowances to members of school governing bodies in England and Wales in each of the last 10 municipal years; and how much he estimates will be allocated in the current municipal year.

David Miliband: Although Governing Bodies have the power to set up schemes to pay governors for any expenditure necessarily incurred to enable them to carry out their governor duties, there is no provision to pay attendance allowances.

School Workforce Agreement

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the projected cost of implementing the National Agreement on Restructuring the School Workforce is.

David Miliband: The costs will vary from school to school, depending on how much progress they have already made on the various elements of workforce reform. Delivering the changes is as much about different ways of working as it is about additional resources. Many schools will be able to implement the September 2003 changes from their existing budgets.
	The phasing of the contractual changes means that the more radical provisions do not come into force until September 2005. We are working to ensure that the delivery of the Agreement will be sustainable, as we consider changes to the funding system for 200405 and beyond.

Schools Finance (Cornwall)

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools in Cornwall have a budget deficit; and what the size of the deficit is in each case.

David Miliband: Information on the number of maintained schools in Cornwall carrying forward deficits at the end of the financial year 200203, and on the size of any deficits, will be contained in the outturn statement for 200203 which the local education authority is required to publish under section 52 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. The deadline for publication of these statements is not until October 2003.

Somali Schoolchildren

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his assessment is of the needs of Somali children in schools in each London borough; how many receive free school meals; and what proportion continue education beyond the age of 16.

David Miliband: The requested information is not held centrally.
	As part of the Pupil Level Annual Schools Census (PLASC), schools are required to record ethnicity data to reflect the main categories used in the 2001 National Population Census. Children of Somali ethnic origin are recorded under the category of Black African. In 2002, the Department carried out a consultation exercise with Local Education Authorities (LEAs) on a key list of extended ethnicity categories that included a separate Somali category. In 2003, for local reporting and monitoring purposes, LEAs were given the option of using the extended categories in their schools if they felt that the main categories did not meet their local management needs. However, not all LEAs chose to use extended categories and LEAs are required only to report to the DfES using the national categories. The Department does not therefore hold complete data for the extended ethnic background categories.

Specialist Schools

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to his answer of 3 June 2003, Official Report, column 203W, on Excellence Schools, if he will place in the Library a copy of the full research published by the Department of Innovative Grouping Practices on flexible forms of pupil grouping.

David Miliband: A copy has now been placed in the Library.

Student Finance

Mr. Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much has been paid by students from (a) Shrewsbury and Atcham and (b) Shropshire in higher education tuition fees in each year since 1997; and what the average amount paid was in each case.

Alan Johnson: My Department does not collect student support data at the constituency level. Student support data on the levels of contribution to tuition are collected from Local Education Authorities (LEAs) through a voluntary survey. However, the data are only robust enough to be published at the national level.

Student Finance

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has for (a) a replacement graduate repayment scheme and (b) reintroduction of grants for disadvantaged students.

Alan Johnson: The White Paper The Future of Higher Education (Cm 5735) which was published in January 2003 sets out our plans for a Graduate Contribution Scheme in England. We plan to abolish up-front tuition fees from 2006/07 and to allow higher education institutions to charge variable fees, between 0 and 3000 per year per course. Institutions will only be able to charge higher fees if they have an access agreement approved by the Office for Fair Access. Graduates will repay their student loan through the Tax System, at a zero real rate of interest, once they are earning above the 15,000 repayment threshold. Monthly repayments will be linked to earnings.
	For those students from low income households starting full-time higher education from Autumn 2004, we will be introducing a new Higher Education Grant of up to 1,000.

Student Finance

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what consultation he has held with (a) the Year Out Group and (b) other organisations furthering gap year arrangements for students; and what action he will take to mitigate potential turbulence in numbers arising from the introduction of approved top-up fees from 200607.

Alan Johnson: No formal consultation has taken place with these groups. However, there has been written correspondence between my hon. Friend the former Minister of Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education and Lifelong Learning and the Chief Executive of the Year Out Group, Sir Richard Oliver, as well as representatives of the Engineering Development Trust, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Project Trust and Year In Industry. The Government does not intend to take any action to regulate student numbers in advance of the introduction of variable fees in 2006/07.

Student Finance

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether he intends to provide that any approved top-up fees chargeable under the proposals in the Future of Higher Education (Cm 5735) should be fully covered by additional student loans.

Alan Johnson: The White Paper The Future of Higher Education (Cm 5735) which was published in January 2003 sets out our plans for a Graduate Contribution Scheme in England. We plan to abolish up-front tuition fees from 2006/07 and to allow higher education institutions to charge variable fees, between 0 and 3000 per year per course. Institutions will only be able to raise their fees if they have an access agreement approved by the Office for Fair Access. Student loans will be available to cover in full the variable fee so that every student will be able to defer payment of their fee until after their graduation, if they choose to do so. Graduates will repay the loan at a zero real rate of interest, with repayments linked to earnings, once they are earning above the 15,000 repayment threshold.

Teacher Training

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans his Department has to remit the (a) tuition fees and (b) top up fees of students undertaking undergraduate teacher training courses.

David Miliband: Any changes to the existing support arrangements for students on courses of initial teacher training would be announced at the appropriate time.

Teacher Vacancies

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many vacant teacher posts there were in (a) primary schools, (b) secondary schools, (c) special schools and (d) all schools as a percentage of the total number of head teachers, in each year since 1997, broken down by local education authority.

David Miliband: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries.

Teachers

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many successful completers of (a) undergraduate and (b) postgraduate teaching qualifications there were as a proportion of entrants and applicants in each year since 1990.

David Miliband: Course length data for new entrants is not available for all years and so it is not possible to match completers, entrants and applicants to give a meaningful proportion of completers to entrants and applicants in each year.
	The data which is available is shown in the tables.
	
		Table 1: the number of applicants to undergraduate and postgraduate teacher training courses
		
			  Undergraduate Postgraduate Total 
		
		
			  England and Wales  
			 199091 (21) (21) (21) 
			 199192 (21) 24,870 (21) 
			 199293 (21) 31,130 (21) 
			 199394 (21) 33,650 (21) 
			 199495 (21) 31,640 (21) 
			 199596 (21) 33,250 (21) 
			 199697 34,020 33,240 67,260 
			 199798 28,110 33,300 61,400 
			 199899 24,300 31,640 55,940 
			 19992000 21,630 33,060 54,680 
			 200001 20,270 34,860 55,130 
		
	
	(21) Data for these years is not available.
	Source
	Graduate Teacher Training Registry and Universities and Colleges Admission Service.
	
		Table 2: the number of entrants to postgraduate and undergraduate teacher training courses
		
			  Undergraduate Postgraduate Total 
		
		
			  England and Wales  
			 199091 11,840 11,960 23,800 
			 199192 13,760 15,050 28,800 
			 199293 15,490 16,500 31,990 
			 199394 14,360 17,690 32,050 
			 199495 12,420 19,090 31,500 
			 199596 11,700 19,330 31,020 
			 199697 10,950 19,720 30,660 
			 199798 10,460 19,480 29,930 
			 199899 9,650 18,790 28,430 
			 19992000 9,340 18,880 28,220 
			 200001 8,960 21,190 30,140 
			 England Only
			 200001 8,100 19,620 27,720 
		
	
	Note
	The figures above do not include trainees on employment based routes.
	Source
	DFE Recruitment Survey, 199091 to 199394; HESES 199495; TTA Survey of ITT Providers 199596 to 200001.
	
		Table 3: the number of successful completers gaining QTS on teacher training courses by phase of training
		
			 Year of completion Undergraduate Postgraduate Total 
		
		
			  England and Wales(22)  
			 1990 6,270 9,600 15,870 
			 1991 6,930 10,380 17,300 
			 1992 7,330 13,460 20,790 
			 1993 8,350 15,110 23,460 
			 1994 9,380 16,130 25,510 
			 1995 10,500 17,330 27,830 
			 1996 11,230 16,900 28,120 
			 1997 10,640 17,780 28,410 
			 1998 9,680 17,150 26,820 
			 1999 10,180 16,500 26,670 
			 2000 7,590 16,160 23,750 
			 England only(23)
			 2000 6,850 14,850 21,690 
			 2001 6,490 16,150 22,640 
		
	
	(22) DfES Database of Teacher Records
	(23) TTA Performance Profiles

Tuition Fees

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to review the system of tuition fees; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Johnson: The Department for Education and Skills has reviewed the system of tuition fees as part of a wider assessment of the higher education sector. The White Paper The Future of Higher Education (Cm 5735) which was published in January 2003 sets out our proposals to allow higher education institutions to charge variable fees, between 0 and 3000 per year per course from 2006/07. We will also abolish up front fees, so that students can defer paying their fees until after they graduate. We will continue to provide a means-tested grant to cover the standard tuition fee (1,100 in 2002/03), as part of a wider package of measures to encourage students from families on low incomes to enter higher education. We have no further plans for review of the system of tuition fees.

University Admissions

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the letter referred to in paragraph 5 of Page 19 of Widening Participation in higher education from the Secretary of State to Office for Fair Access setting out guidance on applying the statutory framework for access agreements and covering an institution's milestones for assessing progress in widening participation will include admissions from (a) type of schools and (b) family social class as such milestones.

Alan Johnson: Widening participation in higher education made clear that it would be for each university to decide on the milestones that are appropriate to its circumstances that it wishes to include in the access agreements.

University Admissions

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to the reply of 3 June from the Minister for Higher Education to the honourable Member for Hertsmere, ref 115686, how he expects that the Office for Fair Access will assess the milestones to be adopted by individual institutions.

Alan Johnson: Widening participation in higher education made clear that it would be for each university to decide on the milestones that are appropriate to its circumstances that it wishes to include in the access agreements.

University Admissions

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students have been wrongly informed by UCAS that they have lost their place at the university of their choice for 2003/04.

Alan Johnson: holding answer 9 June 2003
	We have been advised by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) that no students were wrongly informed that they had lost their place at the university of their choice. 18,000 prospective students were informed by UCAS in May that it had not received from them the necessary confirmations of acceptance of offers from institutions, and that a further 10 days were available for that process to be completed. The latest data available to UCAS indicates that the number of unconfirmed offers is now lower than at the corresponding point last year.

University Students

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of sixth formers in north Shropshire went to university in (a) 199798, (b) 199899, (c) 19992000, (d) 200001 and (e) 200102.

Alan Johnson: Figures for the number of students who enter higher education are not collated centrally by constituency. The latest available information, showing the proportion of 18-year-olds from Shropshire Local Education Authority (LEA) entering full-time undergraduate courses in the UK via the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), is given in the table.
	It should be noted that the proportions in the table are based only on the number of 18-year-olds entering full-time HE. This is a different definition to the Department's main measures of HE participation: the Age Participation Index (API), which measures the proportion of UK domiciled students who enter full-time HE by the age of 20, and the Initial Entry Rate (IER) which measures the proportion of 1730-year-old English domiciled first time entrants to full or part-time HE. Neither the API nor the IER are calculated for each LEA, because of the lack of detailed data at local authority level.
	
		Proportion of 18-year-olds entering full-time HE courses via UCAS
		
			  Year of entry 
			 Students from: 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 Shropshire 21.5 23.3 22.8 24.3 24.1 26.3 
			 Telford and the Wrekin(24) (25) 16.3 18.3 18.0 18.6 19.4 
			 All English LEAs 20.5 20.0 20.0 20.6 21.5 22.0 
		
	
	(24) As a result of Local Government Re-organisation Telford and Wrekin, which was previously part of Shropshire, became a separate LEA in 1998.
	(25) Not applicable.

York Minster Catalogue

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much money the Higher Education Funding Council for England has provided to the University of York to computerise the catalogue of York Minster Library to improve access to it by higher education; and what obligations the Minster library has to higher education institutions in return for this funding.

Alan Johnson: The University of York received funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) of around 390,000 in two phases for this project which was completed in 2000. The project has enabled the catalogue of the Minster's collection of books to be available on line and made more widely accessible to researchers via international networks.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Arms Exports (Indonesia)

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what level of ECGD cover has been provided in relation to the sale of military equipment to Indonesia in each year since 1999; what amounts are outstanding in relation to all ECGD-covered military sales to Indonesia; and if he will list the licences granted for the export of military equipment to Indonesia since 2001.

Patricia Hewitt: ECGD has issued no guarantees relating to exports of military equipment to Indonesia since 1999.
	555 million is outstanding in respect of ECGD claims payments made in cases involving exports of defence equipment to Indonesia. These claims are being repaid, with interest, under three Paris Club agreements covering debt falling due between July 1998 and December 2003.
	Between 1 January 2003 and 2 June 2003, two Open Individual Export Licences and 48 Standard Individual Export Licences were issued, for goods on the military list, where the end users were in Indonesia, with the following ratings:
	ML1, ML4, ML5, ML6, ML10, ML11, ML13, ML22 and PL5017
	The details of all export licences issued are published by destination in the Government's Annual Reports on Strategic Export Controls. A copy of the 2001 Annual Report is available from the Libraries of the House. The 2002 Annual Report will be published shortly.

Assay Tests

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what information she has collated on the number of precious metal items failing assay tests in the latest year for which information is available;
	(2)  whether she has undertaken a regulatory impact assessment of the implementation of Annex III of the draft directive on articles made of precious metal.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The UK assay offices rejected 66,000 items in 2002. This represents 0.19 per cent. of the 34,000,000 items tested.
	The Department has not yet undertaken a Regulatory Impact Assessment on the implementation of Annex III of the draft EU Directive on the marking of precious metals. An RIA will be produced when the Italians formally propose to revive the draft Directive. Officials have discussed the likely impact of Annex III with stakeholders including the Assay Offices, Trading Standards, manufacturers and retailers. The Government do not support the Directive.

Auditors

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will introduce legislation to cap the liability of auditors; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: The Government are considering the recommendations of the independent Company Law Review.

Broadband

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what sums have been paid to (a) NTL and (b) BT to assist in the rollout of broadband services; when such payments were made; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: Certain Regional Development Agencies made payments from the (DTI's 30 million) broadband fund to BT in 2002 for Exchange Activate Trials to test a new approach to bring broadband ADSL technology to small exchanges across the UK, where previously it was not commercially viable.
	Under the Cornwall ActNow project, assisted by EC Objective 1 funding, BT received 237,225 from DTI between December 2001 and August 2002, as a result of a tender process to upgrade exchange for broadband in a region where such investment would also not be commercially viable.

Broadband

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received on the compatibility of public sector broadband with EU state aid rules; and if she will issue guidance on the application of state aid rules for broadband projects.

Stephen Timms: The state aid branch of the DTI provides advice to public authorities to ensure that interventions are compatible with EU state aid rules. The DTI-led public sector broadband aggregation project is being informed by advice from this unit.
	There are no specific state aid rules relating to broadband but further guidance on the application of the rules in general can be found at www.dti.gov.uk/europe/stateaid.

Broadband

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the reasons for poor quality of band connections in rural areas.

Stephen Timms: 7 per cent. of rural households have broadband access, compared with 72 per cent. of households across the country as a whole. Service providers have focussed initially on certain markets becausein the case of BTmore customers can be served within a given distance of an exchange in densely populated areas.
	I have now established a dedicated rural broadband team, working closely with Defra, to help promote the availability and take up of broadband in rural areas.

Cat and Dog Fur

John Lyons: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action she is taking to prevent the trade in cat and dog fur.

Patricia Hewitt: The Government are investigating possibilities for labelling any products that may contain domestic cat and dog fur. Equally we are working to ensure a reliable scientific test is in place to validate the accuracy of any such labels. This will give consumers the information they want about exactly what they are buying. We will report back to Parliament before summer recess.
	It has not proved possible to determine either through trade statistics or through scientific testing, what level of imports of these products, if any, is entering the UK. Therefore the Government do not consider any more trade-restrictive action to be proportionate to the scale of the problem at this time.

Cat and Dog Fur

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make it her policy to ban the importation of cat and dog fur.

Patricia Hewitt: The Government are investigating possibilities for labelling any products that may contain domestic cat and dog fur. Equally we are working to ensure a reliable scientific test is in place to validate the accuracy of any such labels. This will give consumers the information they want about what exactly they are buying. We will report back to Parliament before the summer recess.
	It has not proved possible to determine, either through trade statistics or through scientific testing, what level of imports of these products, if any, is entering the UK. Therefore the Government do not consider any prohibition on imports to be proportionate to the scale of the problem at this time.

Citizens Advice Bureaux

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many debt inquiries have been reported by the Citizens Advice Bureau in (a) the UK, (b) Tyne and Wear, (c) South Tyneside and (d) the Jarrow constituency in each year since 1997.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The coordinating body for Citizens Advice Bureaux (CABx), Citizens Advice, included a table in their May 2003 report on debt, In Too Deep. This table contains figures for the number of new debt inquiries to CABx in the UK from 1997 to 2002, as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 199798 862,019 
			 199899 952,734 
			 19992000 1,031,377 
			 200001 1,038,066 
			 200102 1,066,509 
		
	
	The full table, including a breakdown of type of debt inquiries, can be found on the Citizens Advice's website at: http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk
	Citizens Advice does not, however, have statistics available on a regional or constituency basis.

Citizens Advice Bureaux

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans the Government have to help tackle debt-related issues reported by the Citizens Advice Bureau.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Government are currently considering the issues raised in the report, In Too Deep, and have met Citizens Advice to discuss some of them.
	A number of the concerns raised by Citizens Advice are already being addressed by the review of Government policy on over-indebtedness. The review aims to investigate the demand for money advice and financial literacy programmes, clarify the roles and responsibilities of Government Departments, and make recommendations on future Government policy on reducing over-indebtedness. It will also focus in particular on achieving effective co-ordination of policy across Government.

Coal Miners (Compensation)

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which company is providing the expert report on miners' coal health claims and private small mines; and if she will set out the timetable for reaching an agreement between the solicitors and the private mine owners.

Stephen Timms: The expert report on miners coal health claims and private small mines being produced for the claimants' solicitors is a matter for that party, not the Department of Trade and Industry. It is not possible to stipulate a precise timetable for agreement between the Department, the claimants' solicitors and the small mines; however, negotiations are at an advanced stage and will continue as soon as the expert report is available, which is expected to be in the near future.

Community Pharmacies

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many representations her Department has received relating to the effect of deregulation on community pharmacies.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 17 June 2003
	The Department has received a very substantial number and range of representations from stakeholders both sent to the DTI directly and forwarded to us for our information by health departments.

Consultations

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions she has held with (a) HSBC, (b) the Royal Bank of Scotland, (c) Halifax Bank of Scotland and (d) Abbey National concerning the provision of banking services in the Post Office; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Government are keen that as many accounts as possible should be accessible at post offices. HSBC, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Halifax Bank of Scotland and Abbey National agreed to make their basic bank accounts accessible at post office counters from 1 April 2003 when universal banking services became operational. The Post Office's plans to extend post office access to all current account holders are a commercial matter between Post Office Ltd. and individual banks. I have not, therefore, had any recent discussions with these banks concerning the provision of wider banking services at the Post Office.

Copyright (Visually Impaired Persons) Act

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her policy is on the Copyright (Visually Impaired Persons) Act.

Melanie Johnson: The Government supported the private member's legislation that was enacted last Session as the Copyright (Visually Impaired Persons) Act 2002. We are in touch with disability groups and organisations representing copyright owners on the most appropriate date for commencement of the Act in the next few months.

Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation)Regulations

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the vires of section 7.3 of the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 10 June 2003
	We have considered the position carefully and are satisfied as to the vires of the provision in Regulation 7(3) of the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003. We consider that the provisions of Regulation 7(3) are consistent with Article 4 in Council Directive 2000/78/EC, which these Regulations implement.

Equality Law

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will introduce legislation to unify and extend equality law.

Patricia Hewitt: The Government are taking forward a significant legislative agenda on equality matters. This includes introducing protection against discrimination in employment and vocational training on the grounds of sexual orientation, religion and belief and age to implement the EU Employment and Race Directives. We are also strengthening and widening existing disability legislation, providing rights of recognition for trans-gendered people and looking at how same sex partnerships might be recognised.
	These are complex and far reaching changes which will need time to bed down once they are introduced. We are ensuring that we implement the Employment and Race Directives in a way that achieves greater consistency wherever possible across the equality strands. We do not believe however that comprehensive unifying legislation is the most appropriate way forward.

Export Control Act

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to his answer of 16 May 2003, Official Report, column 463W, which of the Home Office guidelines (a) would and (b) would not be met if extra-territorial jurisdiction were to be given in the secondary orders for the Export Control Act 2002.

Nigel Griffiths: Home Office guidelines are a matter for the Home Secretary.

Extra-territorial Jurisdiction

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 16 May 2003, Official Report, column 463W, how that part of the Home Office guidelines that states that (a) not all of the points have to be met and (b) that extra-territorial jurisdiction can be considered in cases where at least one of the criteria is met informs the work of her Department.

Nigel Griffiths: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given today, PQ No. 119211.

Foreign Inward Investment

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what incentives are being offered to encourage foreign inward investors in the UK.

Patricia Hewitt: The UK attracts more investment than any other country in Europe, and in the world, is second only behind the US (FDI inward stock figures for 2001 source: UNCTAD World Investment Report 2002). Invest-UK works in partnership with all of the UK's Development Agencies to attract the maximum level of inward investment and to market the UK's attractions for high quality investment. Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) is available to foreign inward investors located, or planning to locate, within the UK's assisted areas. RSA provides grants to help support business expansions and create and safeguard jobs.

Fossil Fuels

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether it is the Government's intention to exploit all the UK's economically recoverable fossil fuel reserves.

Stephen Timms: Consistent with the Government's Energy White Paper published in February this year, the Government support the full economic recovery of the UK's fossil fuel resources.

Government Contracts

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of Government contracts have been awarded to small business in each year since 1997.

Nigel Griffiths: The Government has not historically collected this data. However, I have asked the Small Business Service to undertake an annual survey of Government procurement and I hope to be able to report the results of the 200102 survey shortly. The Small Business Service will be commencing the 200203 survey at the same time.

Government Contracts

Eric Martlew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of government contracts have been awarded to small businesses, broken down by Government Department and agency since 1997.

Nigel Griffiths: The Government have not historically collected these data. However, I have asked the Small Business Service to undertake an annual survey of government procurement and I hope to be able to report the results of the 200102 survey, broken down by Government Department, agency etc. shortly. The Small Business Service will be commencing the 200203 survey at the same time.

Ink Cartridges

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures she has taken to promote the re-use of ink cartridges used in laser and inkjet printers.

Stephen Timms: The printer cartridge refill business is steadily growing. The Department welcomes this but has not seen a need to take specific measures to promote the sector.

National Institute for Medical Research

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  if she will make a statement on the Medical Research Council's proposal to close down the National Institute for Medical Research at Mill Hill;
	(2)  what consultation there has been over proposals to close the National Institute for Medical Research at Mill Hill.

Patricia Hewitt: No decision has been taken regarding the future of the National Institute for Medical Research. The Medical Research Council is, at present, developing a long-term strategy for its major capital investments over the next 10 to 15 years, including the National Institute for Medical Research.
	The MRC informed all MRC Unit and Institute Directors of the decision to establish a Council Subcommittee to develop this strategy with further information on its terms of reference and membershipall Directors had the opportunity to comment on the consultation document when released on 4 April 2003. The Directors at the four sites were consulted over the six months taken to discuss and agree the strategy. The Directors at the four sites have had the opportunity to comment on the over-arching strategy and submit comments relating to their institutes. The draft strategy was released for general consultation on 4 April 2003 and the deadline for comments was extended to 26 May 2003.
	MRC has recently announced that, as a next step, they will be establishing an expert task force to include Council members, independent scientists from UK and abroad, and senior scientists currently working at NIMR. The task force will aim to accelerate further development of a vision for a strong scientific future for NIMR. This will include consideration of, and consultation on, a broader set of options for the size and location of NIMR. Establishment of the task force emphasizes the MRC's commitment to continued stakeholder consultation and to consideration all the options for the future of the NIMR.

Official Spelling

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make it her policy that official (a) correspondence, (b) reports and (c) documentation from her office uses the English spelling of words where this differs from the US version.

Patricia Hewitt: All correspondence, reports and documentation issued by my office are written in accordance with the Cabinet Office guidance on the handling of Ministerial and other correspondence, which emphasise that appropriate arrangements should be in place to ensure that the quality of all replies is high. My office also adheres to the Cabinet Office guidance on plain written English.

Partnership Agreements

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether she plans to conclude a partnership agreement with the trade unions representing the staff in her Department.

Patricia Hewitt: A Partnership Statement was agreed with the Trade Union by my Department in February 2001.

Post Office Pensions

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the (a) reported deficit in the pension fund of Royal Mail Group and (b) treatment of the pension credit in Consignia's last two annual accounts and the six monthly accounts for September 2002; and if she will estimate the total change in credit and deficit in those accounts.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 22 May 2003
	These are matters that fall within the day-to-day responsibility of Royal Mail. I have therefore asked the company's chief executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Precious Metals Directive

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, 
	(1)  whether (a) her ministers and (b) officials have met representatives of the (i) British Retail Consortium and (ii) Consumers' Association to discuss the EU draft directive on precious metals; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  with which stakeholders her officials are discussing the Government's position on the EU draft directive on precious metals; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Neither Ministers nor officials have met representatives of the British Retail Consortium or the Consumers' Association to discuss the Draft EU Directive on the marking of precious metals. Officials have met representatives of the National Association of Goldsmiths, which represents retail jewellers, and have been in contact with representatives of the Consumers' Association regarding the Directive.
	Officials have discussed the Draft Directive with, among others, the British Hallmarking Council, the Assay Offices, Trading Standards and jewellery manufacturers. The Government does not support the Directive.

Precious Metals Directive

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the policy is of the Government towards the Precious Metals Directive; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Government do not support the Directive.

Printing Waste

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action she plans to take to implement the recommendations of the Office of Fair Trading report on the cost of printers and the cost of ink cartridges; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Recommendations in the report are a matter for the Office of Fair Trading to follow up with the IT industry.

Pyramid Selling

Harry Barnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the (a) place and (b) dates of the conviction were of her Department's 1987 prosecution under the Fair Trading Act 1973 and the Pyramid Selling Schemes Regulations 1973; what companies were involved; what sentences were conferred; to which offences the companies and directors pleaded guilty; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Central records within the DTI enforcement section have been unable to locate a 1987 prosecution under the Fair Trading Act 1973 and the Pyramid Selling Schemes Regulations 1973.

Renewable Energy Policy

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what types of wood and other biomass material are classified as renewable for the purposes of the renewable obligation certificates available for industry; and whether this includes (a) material grown specifically for a renewable energy programme and (b) wood which is produced for other purposes.

Stephen Timms: All types of wood and other biodegradable material are renewable as the term is used in the Utilities Act and the Renewables Obligation Order (RO).
	Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) may be issued only for the biodegradable fraction of the fuel supply, and only where the conditions of the Renewable Obligation Order concerning the fuel supply and technology used are met. Where the feedstock is at least 98 per cent. biodegradable, there is eligibility for ROCs regardless of the energy conversion technology used. Where the feedstock is mixed waste, there is eligibility only in the case of advanced energy conversion technologies.
	In the case of stations fired by both a fossil-derived fuel and biomass (known as co-firing), waste which is purely biomass is eligible under the Renewables Obligation until 31 March 2011, but from 1 April 2006, at least 75 per cent. of the biomass must be from energy crops as defined in the Renewables Obligation Order, that is a plant crop planted after 1 January 1990 primarily for the purpose of being used as a fuel.
	A technical review of the Renewables Obligation, including the co-firing provisions, is under way. This will be followed by a Statutory Consultation, beginning later in the summer.

Royal Mail

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she will next meet the Chairman of Royal Mail.

Stephen Timms: As shareholder of Royal Mail Holdings plc, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry meets the Chairman several times a year. Their next meeting has not yet been scheduled.

Small and Medium Businesses

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list sector specific guidance produced by her Department for small and medium sized enterprises since February 2002; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Griffiths: holding answer 16 June 2003
	The Small Business Service (SBS) provides guidance and advice to all SMEs via the national network of Business Link Operators and the Business Link Website. Current sector specific guidance on the Website includes aerospace, agriculture, rural retail, biotechnology, the automotive industry and the building sector. The Business Link Websitewww.businesslink.orgprovides fuller information.

Terrorism

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to ensure that first tier authorities share their plans with parish councils for dealing with terrorist incidents at nuclear power stations.

Stephen Timms: First tier local authorities are required under the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2001 (REPPIR), to prepare and exercise the emergency plans which would be activated in the event of an emergency with off-site consequences at a civil nuclear site. This would include an emergency which might result from a terrorist incident. In the preparation of these plans, first tier local authorities are required to consult interested parties or agencies, which could include elected councillors at county, borough and parish level. They are also required to consult on any proposed changes or reviews, and we would expect them to continue to share their plans with interested parties after publication. REPPIR is monitored and enforced by the Health and Safety Executive.

University Challenge Fund

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the objectives are of the University Challenge Fund; what progress has been made towards achieving those objectives; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: The objective of University Challenge is to deliver commercial opportunities by enabling universities to access seed funding to assist the commercialisation of their research. In their first three years of operation, the 15 Seed Funds established in 1999 have assisted the creation of 159 spin outs companies, the development of 81 patents and 11 licences.

University Challenge Fund

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the financial benefits to the UK economy from the University Challenge Fund have been found by her Department to exceed the money spent on it.

Patricia Hewitt: It is too early to assess the ultimate economic impact of the University Challenge Fund. However, by its third year of operation, initial investment of 30 million by the University Challenge Funds had attracted an additional 40 million from private sector sources. An evaluation of the University Challenge scheme will be carried out in due course.

University Challenge Fund

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been spent on the University Challenge Fund each year since it was started; what the projected level of expenditure is over the next five years; and whether these figures are different from projected expenditure levels when the fund was created.

Patricia Hewitt: The Government awarded 25 million towards the first round of University Challenge in 199899, and a further 15 million for a second round in 2001. Future funding for University Challenge activity will be provided as part of the Higher Education Innovation Fund for which a total of 171 million was allocated in Spending Review 2002. The grant drawn down by the University Challenge Funds each year is published in the DTI Consolidated Resource Accounts.

Unsolicited E-mails

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the threat to the integrity of the internet posed by the incidence of spam e-mails; and what measures she proposes to combat spamming.

Stephen Timms: Bulk untargeted e-mails can cause serious offence and nuisance to the recipients and cause problems for internet service providers whose networks can be blocked or slowed down. The Government will be introducing stricter rules on unsolicited commercial e-mail under the Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications and draft Regulations are available for consultation until 19 June. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of the House and are also available on the DTI website at: www.dti.gov.uk/industries/econommunications/directive on privacy electronic communications 200258ec

Wind Farms

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with Force 9 regarding a wind farm in the Golden Valley in Herefordshire; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 17 June 2003
	The Department has had no discussions with Force 9 regarding a possible application under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 to build a wind farm in the Golden Valley.